Boxer 125: Bajaj’s sub Rs 25,000 bike
According to some reports in the media, Bajaj has started manufacturing its low cost 125cc bike in China. This bike, which will be sold in China, Nigeria and some of Bajaj's other exports markets, will be branded 'Boxer' instead of 'Bajaj.' The 'Boxer' branding will also be used in India, when the bike is launched here by end-2009 or early-2010.
Bajaj's low cost Boxer 125 is expected be priced at around Rs 22-24,000. Since the company does not want to associate itself with such low-priced budget bikes, it will sell these bikes under the Boxer brand rather than use the Bajaj name. To begin with, Bajaj will manufacture around 20,000 units of the Boxer 125 per annum at its plant in China. About 75% of the total production will be sold in Nigeria.
Currently, Bajaj's cheapest motorcycle is the Platina 100, which sells for around Rs 35,000, ex-showroom. Bajaj's chief competitor, Hero Honda also sells a bike in this segment - its CD Dawn is priced at Rs 33,500, ex-showroom.
Both Bajaj and Hero Honda believe they can significantly boost their motorcycle sales by launching bikes that cost around the Rs 20,000 mark. The primary market for these ultra low cost bikes would be rural India, where these bikes could replace bicycles and mopeds etc. While motorcycle buyers in bigger Indian cities gravitate towards style and performance, purchase price and fuel-efficiency are still the two most important factors for motorcycle buyers in smaller towns.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Bajaj, Renault may go separate ways on the ULC car project
The proposed Bajaj-Renault partnership for an ultra low cost (ULC) car could be headed for trouble already. The two companies have 'issues' with the car's design, technical specification, branding and positioning.
Last year, Bajaj and Renault had signed an MoU for the ULC car project, but the actual joint venture agreement has not been signed yet. According to reports in the media, both Bajaj and Renault still want to work together on the small car, but their aims and objectives are turning out to be dissimilar, which may put the whole project in jeopardy.
Bajaj, which currently has no cachet in the passenger cars space, is looking to develop a vehicle which other carmakers may find difficult (or even impossible?) to profitably replicate. In addition to low cost, the Pune-based two-wheeler manufacturer wants to focus on fuel-efficiency for its first car.
Renault, meanwhile, wants to go after the Tata Nano, no holds barred. It wants to develop a car that can take on the Nano in terms of pricing and value-for-money. The French company is confident that for Nano money, it can actually offer a car that's better engineered, safer, more stylish and more refined than the Tata product. While Bajaj believes that a Nano replica - even one that's slightly better than the original - may not work, Renault is quite gung-ho about it and wants to launch its own version of the Nano as soon as possible.
Apart from tech specs and positioning, the other major issue is that of branding. Bajaj is keen to keep the upper hand here, since the ULC car will be its first foray into the passenger cars segment. The company wants the new car to be seen as a Bajaj product, and does not want the Renault badge to overwhelm the Bajaj name.
While both Bajaj and Renault remain committed to resolving their issues over the next few weeks, their ULC car may well be delayed by 6-12 months if Bajaj insists on reengineering the package completely. There also seems to be a small chance that the alliance may not take off at all, in which case Bajaj will go on to develop the small car on its own, perhaps with technical inputs from KTM. Either way, it should be interesting to see how this story finally pans out.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
Hero Honda to manufacture low-cost motorcycle
According to reports in the media, two-wheeler market leader Hero Honda is working on an all-new ultra low cost motorcycle, which might be priced at around Rs 25,000. To develop such a motorcycle - which would indeed be a full-fledged motorcycle and not a moped - Hero Honda is likely to use 'frugal engineering' techniques, as pioneered by Tata Motors, for the Nano.
While Hero Honda's low cost bike may be targeted at rural customers, the company will not compromise on quality, performance and durability. Also, unlike some Honda bikes sold in other Asian markets, the low-cost Hero Honda machine will not be a step-thru, since consumers in India tend to look at all step-thrus as mopeds and accordingly expect such bikes to be priced like a moped.
Hero Honda is actually not the first Indian company that's working on low-cost motorcycles. Bajaj Auto is also working on a similar machine, which may be manufactured in China. Bajaj's bike may be sold in the Chinese market as well as other Asian markets, before being launched in India. Right now, details on Bajaj's Chinese-built bike are scarce, but the machine is expected to have a 100-125cc engine and may be priced between Rs 25,000-28,000.
[Via: indiaautomotive]
You need to log in to vote
The blog owner requires users to be logged in to be able to vote for this post.
Alternatively, if you do not have an account yet you can create one here.
Powered by Vote It Up