Bajaj Auto MD Rajiv Bajaj at the unveiling of V15 motorcycle. A minor facelift of the V series on the cards, says firm. (File photo)
India's largest motorcycle exporter is looking forward to close the current financial year with a 4 per cent jump in domestic motorcycle market share. Bajaj Auto is targeting a 23 per cent market share by the end of FY18, from its existing standing at 19 per cent. At the sideline of an event to demonstrate the 15,600-km journey covered by Bajaj Dominar, Eric Vas, President, Motorcycle business, Bajaj Auto expressed confidence in the company's growth trajectory.
The motorcycle maker has recently revamped its entry-level product line-up, including CT100 and Platina and is confident to sustain volumes. "We plan to maintain same volumes in the segment, as compared to what we posted in the past two months. We want to maintain sales of over 120,000 units per month and have a market share of 33 per cent in the entry segment," said Vas. In August, Bajaj Auto sold 151,403 units in the below 110cc segment.
However, Bajaj Auto's sales in the first half of the year were muted due to BS-III to BS-IV transition and GST impact. An official from the company said that though Bajaj had very less inventory of BS-III bikes in the pipeline, the sales of BS-IV compliant motorcycles were affected due to heavy discounts given by competitors to clear BS-III stock. The major hit for the company was in the 125 cc to 150 cc segment, where it managed to sell 354,967 units between April to August, as against 519,218 units in the same period last year, thereby, marking a slump of 32 per cent. The company has some alteration plans in this segment that includes a minor facelift of the V range and a major announcement, details of which are yet to be disclosed.
Being the largest motorbike exporter, Bajaj also is betting on some of its export market. The company has high expectations from reviving markets like Latin and Central America and Africa where it's NS range and Dominar has gained traction. Last month in October, Bajaj Export sales grew by 20 per cent and the company sold 114,225 units abroad over 94,895 units in the same period last year. The company claims that the export sale of its new brand Dominar equals domestic volumes, which is stands at around 2,000 units per month.
