Bajaj Auto has delayed the unveiling of the next generation Pulsars but will showcase its ULC (ultra low cost) car on the 3rd of January, 2012. The original concept of Bajaj’s small car was first shown at the 2008 Auto Expo and now Bajaj will exhibit the production ready version of the car at the 2012 Auto Expo, which takes place at Pragati Maidan. Bajaj Auto has used it’s expertise in manufacturing 3-wheelers on the upcoming small car and the vehicle is more of a grown up 3-wheeler than a watered down hatchback. Till date, the Renault-Nissan partnership with the Chakan based automaker is uncertain as the former wants to see the production ready model before they commit anything.

The Bajaj ULC car will have excellent fuel economy and might use some technology from the Pulsars (DTS-i, ExhausTEC, etc). The car could be marketed under the Renault brand name and will be priced more than the Tata Nano. The new platform which the ULC car will use could first make it to commercial application. With sales of the Nano picking up gradually, the time to enter in this segment seems quite right for Renault and Bajaj. The ULC car, if sold through Renault, will have no Bajaj monikers.

Source – Autocar India

This is the second most disappointing news for Pulsar fans this week. Just yesterday news of Bajaj Auto postponing the launch of the all new Pulsars to January came and now the Chakan based automaker has decided not to display any of its motorcycle at the upcoming Auto Expo. Yes, the company instead would showcase commercial vehicles and an improved version of the ultra low cost (ULC) car. The KTM Duke 200, which is set for launch later this month won’t be present either and the next generation Pulsars will be launched in January but won’t make it to the 2012 Auto Expo.

Now the next generation Bajaj Pulsars are the most awaited set of machines in 2012. To be improved by leaps and bounds, the bikes are going to be game changers. Bajaj Auto might have decided to exclude the all new Pulsar fron the Expo as the company might be planning to hold an entirely separate event for the launch of these bikes. Launching at an event such as the Auto Expo would dilute the attention and Bajaj Auto certainly has no plans to do so. What are your expectations from the next gen Pulsar series?

The country’s second largest bike manufacturer, Bajaj Auto has produced a record number of 10 million DTS-i engines. The DTS-i technology was introduced first in its Pulsar range of bikes. After watching its runaway success in the Pulsar series, Bajaj also introduced the same technology in its Discover models. Currently Bajaj Auto is woking on its new series of Pulsars and it is expected to be launched by the month of December. The to-be-unveiled Pulsar series is going to be much better than the current generation of Pulsars. According to the company sources, the new series of Pulsars will be featuring technologies better than the current DTS-i.

“This technology has contributed substantially to our leadership in the sports segment and also in creating a differentiated offering in the commuter segment. At a time when fuel prices are skyrocketing, our DTS-i technology has proved extremely beneficial to our customers.” K Srinivas, president Motorcycle Business at Bajaj Auto said

The DTS-i technology used by Bajaj stands for Digital Twin Spark ignition which as the name suggests, employs 2 spark-plugs for the combustion to take place. Using 2 spark plugs actually helps in better combustion of the air fuel mixture thus reducing emissions and also increasing the fuel efficiency. Apart from celebrating its production of 10 million DTS-i engines, it is also celebrating 10 years of the presence of Pulsar in the Indian market since its launch in November 2001.

Bajaj Auto, the country’s second largest 2 wheeler manufacturer after Hero Motocorp eyes strong growth in the current fiscal year by selling over 4.5 million bikes and 3 wheelers. The largest selling brands are the Pulsar and the Discover which have helped in making sales double over the last 3 years. Till now, the company has already sold over 2.25 million units and so is eyeing a very strong and positive growth by the end of this fiscal. The following months will also see quite a few launches from the Bajaj stable out of which the most expected one is the launch of the KTM Duke200. Bajaj holds 40% of the total stake in KTM and is planning to launch the 200 cc version of its very popular bike, the Duke in India soon. The 125 cc version of the bike has already been launched in few other countries. More than the numbers, the company’s top priority is to keep its focus intact on profits, especially with its EBITDA consistently clocking 20 per cent for sometime now.

“We have strong brands in our portfolio and are reasonably confident that the next three years will see our annual numbers touch 10 million units. Our starting point today is a lot stronger and more potent than what it was three years ago when we were still finding our way around. We have worked very hard on our cost structure over the last two decades and even when (sales) numbers were low, the back-end was pretty much in place. As a result, the needle will not move too much during times of distress. We have ensured that it is not going to be easy to rock the boat of this company,” Mr Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Auto, said.

The mass Market has became the prime Focus of all car makers, now almost all car makers want to set their foot in this segment to try out their luck. Nissan India too is planning to step in the small car marker but they will not be alone in this venture. Nissan will be working with Bajaj to make a small car for the Indian market. Reanult-Nissan back in 2008 had signed a MOU with Bajaj Auto for developing an ultra low cost vehicle for India as weell as other markets overseas. The car is expected to be launched in 2012. In the whole deal Bajaj is going to design, manufacture and source the car while Nissan will handle marketing in India and overseas. Reanult-Nissan is investing Rs. 4500 crore to set up a plant in Chennai which is expected to have an annual capacity of four lakh units.

“We have been holding discussions, the next round of the announcement will be a joint announcement,” Giles Normand, VP Corporate (India, Africa and Middle East), Nissan Motor, said.

The mystery of the Bajaj-Renault-Nissan small car has finally come to and end with Bajaj Auto admitting the commercial unsuitability of the project. The Chakan based automaker has no plans to get into the passenger car segment and will instead utilise the ULC for a low cost commercial vehicle. The ULC in production ready guise will be showcased at the 2012 Auto Expo. The ULC based 4-wheeler will be manufactured at the company’s Aurangabad facility and will be used for transportation measures.

Bajaj Auto was not able to showcase the car to Renault and Nissan, due to which the companies have dropped the idea altogether till they don’t see the ULC. Renault wants to concentrate on its 5 products for India and is not interested in a low cost car. If they do procure the ULC from Bajaj, they would just working on marketing of their product as their own vehicle with their own badge. The hiccups faced by Tata Nano has made many companies think twice over a low cost vehicle.

The Bajaj Pulsar 220 and Avenger 220 were only available across Bajaj Pro Biking dealerships in the country. However, Bajaj Auto has now announced that both the bikes can now be purchased and serviced through any of their dealers in the country. The move will help Bajaj Auto boost sales drastically as both these bikes were limited to just 34 pro-biking outlets. The limited service centers were a hindrance for many to purchase these bikes, but now all dealers will service the Pulsar 220 and Avenger 220, making it easier to live with these machines.

Some owners might not like this move, trusting only the pro-biking blokes to service their machines. However both the Pulsar 220 and Avenger 220 don’t feature any complicated mechanicals. The restriction of these two models to pro-biking outlets can be dated back to Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi era, when the fuel injection system required only trained personnels with proper equipments to handle these mean machines. However Bajaj dropped fuel injection in favour of a carburetor and things have been a breeze for the mechanics. However this move is nothing but the silence before the storm, because the P220 and Avenger have to make way for high capacity motorcycles which will be launched by the end of this year. Excite? We sure are!

Bajaj Auto has made it very clear, they are not competing with Hero Honda in India and see Honda a major threat to its market position. The company has indirectly alerted Honda to be careful, with its latest TV commercial. The latest Pulsar TVC, which is influenced by KTM, talks about the Pulsar selling five times more than any Japanese sports bike. The Chakan based automaker knows that Hero is no threat to them, but Honda is, which is charting out aggressive plans to displace Bajaj from its number two position. Further more, Bajaj Auto is a global player, where Hero has no presence and Honda rules the roost.

“Before the potential competitor (Honda) comes and attacks us, we want to be in a strong position to ward off the threat. We have always been numerically superior to them, but people are not aware about the extent of our leadership. The advertisement points out our domination,” Milind Bade, Bajaj Auto, GM (Marketing), said.

Bajaj Auto has crossed the 10 lakh (1 million) export mark the current year. The company’s international business has clocked a growth of 35% in volume. Bajaj Auto expects to close the year with exports of 1.2 million units with revenue of $1 billion. The two-wheeler major has increased its exports of motorcycles 6 times in the past 5 years. Bajaj Auto is currently present in 36 countries where it exports 50% to Africa, 34% to Asia and 15% to Latin America.

Bajaj Auto plans to add 130 new dealerships by June. The said task usually takes 9-12 months, but Bajaj hopes to complete it in just 4 months. The addition of 130 new dealerships will create 7,000 new jobs. These new dealerships will commence temporary operations by March end, with final operations commencing by June. The company has selected the new dealerships with the use of internet and delegation through a layered selection process. The company has 470 outlets and received over 4,000 inquires and 2,700 completed online applications from across the country.