Bajaj to exit scooter market

Bajaj Auto, once knows as the market leader in geared scooters, will exit the segment by the end of this fiscal. The firm’s sole scooter – Kristal has not been doing well and Bajaj will concentrate all its resources on bikes. The trademark ‘Hamara Bajaj’ advertising campaigns that were a hit in the 1980s and 1990s, propelling its brand of scooters to the numero-uno position has come to an end.

When quizzed about this news, Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj told this to the reporters at the launch of its 135-cc Pulsar: “We will exit the scooter market because we don’t see much sense in it…If we are to be a motorcycle specialist, we cannot make scooters,”. “The scooters did not sell according to our expectations. We are making hardly 1,000 scooters a month now and mostly for exports. Now our focus is on motorcycles,”. You heard his words – Bajaj will now fight for the number 1 spot with Hero Honda and eventually beat it. “One day, God willing, we will be the largest motorcycle company in the world. If we have to be a motorcycle specialist, we have to make sacrifice (in scooter segment),” he added.

Bajaj was also unhappy with the market’s response to the Kristal which to be really honest is a great product. It was the first vehicle in India to come with single key operation, neck mounted fuel filler, auto-headlamps, DTS-i tech, ride-control, Spring in Spring among many more. Bajaj sold just 154 units of its Kristal in November and exported 104. Cumulative domestic scooter sales during the April-November period was 3,356 units and 728 units overseas. That explains the reason why Bajaj have scrapped the launch of its Blade sports scooter and a successor to the ultra-light Sunny.

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