Bajaj Auto grows its entry level and sports bike market share, to launch new executive bike soon

Bajaj Auto says in the overall motorcycle mass market comprising the entry, executive and sports segments, it is now the fastest growing in two of the three segments.

By Autocar Professional Bureau

07 Jan 2016

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New RS 200, AS 200 and AS 150 have given the Pulsar brand a new sales fillip.

Motorcycle manufacturer Bajaj Auto today announced that it has achieved leadership position in the combined entry level and sports motorcycle segments. The company says that in the overall motorcycle mass market comprising the entry, executive and sports segments, it is now the fastest growing in two of the three segments. The company now plans to address the executive bike market with the launch of a brand-new motorcycle before end-March 2016.

In the entry level segment, the bikemaker says it grew its market share from 23% to 36% in April-December 2015. The CT100, which was re-launched last year, and the new Platina, which debuted in January, have driven volumes. Bajaj Auto says it sold 681,000 entry level commuter bike in the first nine months of the fiscal year (April-December 2015) compared to 383,000 units in April-December 2014.

In November-December 2015, following the launch of the new Avenger cruiserbikes, Bajaj Auto claims it has attained market leadership of 53% in the mass sports segment for bikes priced below Rs 100,000. The entry level and sports segments together constitute 43% of the domestic two-wheeler market and Bajaj Auto says it is now the leader in these categories with a 36% market share.

Speaking on this growing market share, Eric Vas, president (Motorcycle Business), Bajaj Auto, said: In a challenging environment for the automobile industry, Bajaj Auto maintained positive momentum as a result of a well-crafted strategy – superior customer value through differentiated products and strong brands. With the introduction of new products such as the CT100 and the new Platina, we strengthened our position in the entry level segment. In the sports segment, we enhanced our leadership position through the launch of the Pulsar RS 200, Pulsar AS 200 and 150 and the Avenger Cruise 220 and Avenger Street 220 and 150.”

The Pulsar RS 200, according to the company, has become the largest selling performance bike priced above Rs 100,000. The recently launched Avengers have also seen a good market response with December 2015 sales crossing 20,000 units. It is understood that production capacity for the Avengers is to be raised to 30,000 units per month by March 2016.