2nd coming: Bajaj to ride scooters again

[Yogesh Sarkar]

Hamara Bajaj is riding back in time, literally. Come January 2007, Bajaj Auto will step into the domestic scooter market, marking its re-entry into a segment it exited this April.

Bajaj will re-enter with an ungeared model Kristal that's targetted at the college crowd. This will be followed by Blade, a model positioned to attract the new-age male audience.

Bajaj, once the country's largest scooter maker, had discontinued its geared scooter brands this April after ringng dowen curtains on two of the oldest standing brand ? Chetak and Super.

It had completely exited the scooter market around June by discontinuing production of its new-age non-geared model Wave.

"The new models have been designed with changing market dynamics and customer preferences in mind. These moels will mark Bajaj's re-entry into a segment where it was once a leader," a company official said.

"The market for non-geared scooters has been on a rise. With these models appealing to both the college-goer and the middle-aged executive, we will be able to target this high-growth market again," the official added.

Kristal and Blade ride on Bajaj's Digital Twin Spark Ignition (DTS-i) technology. The scooter market in India had witnessed an erosion in demand with the tightening of emission norms and a sudden shift in consumer preference towards more macho motorcycles.

This had forced Bajaj Auto to reinvent its product portfolio ? which had a large concentration of scooters ? and move into predominantly bike manufacturing.

Source: Times of India

Kinetic, Honda and Hero Honda better watch out, cause we all know what Bajaj can do if it decides to once again become the market leader in Scooters and with it might just become the highest two wheeler producer in India.