Entry-level bikes put Bajaj Auto on growth lane; market share at 4-year high

A robust growth in volumes has pushed Bajaj Auto's market share to a four year high, aided by price drops in two key high volume models.

A fifth of the domestic motorcycle market is now controlled by the Pune-based manufacturer of Pulsar and Avenger. The company recorded a market share of 20.06 percent by September-end, the highest since October 2014 when it recorded a 20.25 percent share in the domestic motorcycle market.

The company had been striving hard to hit the 20 percent market share for the past several quarters. Despite multiple launches backed by relentless marketing efforts and sales promotion exercises, volume growth remained insignificant.

In June last year, its motorcycle market share fell to a record low of 11.21 percent after its ploy of multiple launches in the budget and commuter segment failed to yield desired results.

The Rajiv Bajaj-led company has seen a year-on-year jump of 27 percent in volumes during the first half of this fiscal to 1.28 million units.

This growth was double than the industry’s growth of 13.17 percent during the same six months at 7.37 million units as against 6.51 million units sold in the same period last year, according to data supplied by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

In March, Bajaj Auto cut prices on the CT 100 by Rs 2,000 making it the cheapest geared two-wheeler on sale in Indiaat at a shade over Rs 30,000. The gap between the CT 100 and the HF Dawn, Hero MotoCorp’s most affordable bike, is more than Rs 5,000 as of today.

Bajaj Auto also reduced price of the entry variant of the Pulsar 150, christened Pulsar Classic, by Rs 2,500. Volumes of another entry bike Bajaj Platina has also seen a resultant spurt after the company added an electric start feature.

Though the price cut was met with surprise and disappointment by stakeholders and analysts, fearing profit margin and contraction, it did bring cheer to retail buyers and Bajaj dealers.

The CT 100 is very popular in the price sensitive entry-level bike segment. Buyers of this model are mostly from the rural and semi-rural markets for which maximum mileage is top priority. The CT 100 is the market leader in its segment and provides a rated mileage of nearly 90 km per litre.

The entry variant of the Pulsar 150 is popular in the urban space and was already the market leader in the premium bike segment. Following the price correction, the price gap between the entry Pulsar 150 and the next variant of the same model is Rs 10,000.