Car Studio – It's all about Cars, Engines, anything and everything about cars

Pune: Nearly three years after Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) pulled the plug on scooters, and stopped producing them at the Pune plant, Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, has given the assurance that the company will return to making scooters.

The promise, however, comes with the rider that this will happen only after BAL gains recognition as a player of importance in the global motorcycle market.

“We will make scooters at some point of time,” Mr Bajaj told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM), adding “but we have to be a globally dominant maker of motorcycles before that.”

Outlining the strategy, he said BAL wanted to become a specialist in marketing. “I don’t think motorcycles that succeed are (necessarily) better products, they are perceived as better products,” he said, adding that he wanted to compete by creating a right perception.

“When markets evolve, businesses have to be specialised, and only branded businesses make money.”

The way to specialise is through sacrifice, Mr Bajaj said, maintaining that by sacrificing scooters, BAL came to be perceived as a motorcycle specialist. “Though we make 3.5 million bikes (a year), our global market share is only 10 per cent,” he pointed out. “There is no reason why we cannot push for 30-40 per cent and do one thing well,” he said, reiterating, “We never said we’ll not make scooters, not at this point.”

Speaking about the car project, Mr Bajaj said that a new platform of three and four-wheelers was being developed and would most probably be made at Waluj which will help keep costs down. “We are not trying to make cars, but money-making cars,” he emphasised, adding that BAL believed in operating with 20 per cent EBITDA margins.

“We will put out a four-wheeler by 2012 and the capex on the project will be less than Rs 500 crore,” he said.

Alka Kshirsagar
The Hindu Business Line

New Delhi: Harley-Davidson has launched its first Indian dealership as it pitches the “freedom of the open road” in a nation with some of the world’s most congested traffic, the US company said Saturday.

Harley-Davidson, the iconic heavyweight motorcycle maker, launched its first outlet in the southern city of Hyderabad on Friday and plans to open more across the country, the company said in an emailed statement.

“We look forward to initiating a new era of motorcycling,” said Anoop Prakash, managing director of Harley-Davidson India.

The Milwaukee-based company, whose brand was made famous in the movie “Easy Rider”, is using the slogan “Hear the Roar!”.

Prakash said bike is well suited for Indian roads due to its weight and hulking design, adding that the company plans to launch in other cities before the end of the year, including capital New Delhi and financial hub Mumbai.

But while India is the world’s second-largest motorcycle market, most sales are of small, inexpensive bikes that can weave through traffic in India’s clogged cities easier than a 1500cc Harley “Fat Boy”.

India does have open roads outside the large cities but many are potholed and make for less than easy riding.

The bikes, which loyal riders affectionately nickname Hogs, are made in the United States and shipped to India where they face hefty custom duties.

The cost of the bikes in India start at 695,000 rupees (14,917 dollars) and range up to 3,495,000 rupees, said a spokeswoman.

Moving into India is part of Harley Davidson’s strategy to break into emerging markets as its customers in developed markets are ageing.

The company, which cites the lure of India’s rapidly growing economy and rising middle class, is launching 12 variants of the bikes in the country.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/biz/india-business/Harley-Davidson-opens-first-Indian-dealership/articleshow/6152187.cms