Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto, said that the company will gain market share with smart strategy not with discounts
Bajaj Pulsar series is leading performance bike segment in India but the company is struggling to get good sales in commuter segment as products are under performing compared to competitors. But the company recently dropped price of CT100, which is the entry level model and now CT100 is getting good sales growth.
Bajaj also introduced double disc variant of Pulsar 150 without any price hike and launched a stripped out model of Pulsar 150 at a lower price point. This pricing strategy is paying off for the company as demand is increasing. Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto said that the company will gain market share with smart strategy not with discounts.
The price war between Bajaj Auto and Hero is heating up in commuter segment, while Hero is planning to launch multiple products in premium bike segment to capture market share from Bajaj. Both companies are leading in two different segments and Hero MotoCorp is yet to launch its premium products across India.
The first quarter of 2018 has been positive for Bajaj Auto as the company registered 40 percent year-on-year growth in domestic motorcycle segment. The recent launches helped Bajaj to post 45 percent growth in performance bike segment and 38 percent in commuter bike segment. In three-wheeler segment, the company has posted 80 percent growth and 35 percent in exports.
The Chakan based manufacturer is focusing on improving market share for next 2-3 years at the cost of margins. Even with an aggressive pricing strategy, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) are stable for Bajaj and it is expected to stay around 20 percent for coming months also.
The demand for CT100 is increasing each month and now they are going to increase price, so that loss won’t be high. The next price hike for CT100 will be in September but the company has improved the product over time. Bajaj is focussing on developing new products for mid-segment and they are planning to enter new global markets also.