Even as the domestic motorcycle market witnessed a marginal dip in the first six months of the current fiscal, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) has increased its market share, according to a senior executive.
Speaking to newsmen here, K. Srinivas, President-Motorcycle Business, Bajaj Auto Ltd, Pune, said the motorcycle market had dipped by one per cent (-1 per cent growth) in the first six months of current financial year.
Even in this challenging market environment, he said Bajaj Auto was able to increase its market share compared to its competitors.
He said the market share of BAL had grown from 25 per cent to 27 per cent during this period. In September, its market share had gone up to 28 per cent.
In the first eight days of Dussera festival, Bajaj Auto’s retail sales had witnessed a six per cent growth compared to the last season’s sales. Srinivas attributed the growth during the Dussera season this year to the slew of new launches — Discover 4G, Pulsar 200 and Discover 125 ST. Last month, 40,000 Discover 125 ST were sold and this month he expected this to touch 45,000 units.
He said there has been a major shift in customer preference in the last decade in the three bike segments — 100 cc, 125 cc and sports bikes of 150 cc +. From accounting for 4 per cent of the entire market eight years ago, the sports bikes’ market share has gone up to 17 per cent aided by the launch of Bajaj’s Pulsar brand.
The 125cc bike segment’s share too, was at 17 per cent and this segment has grown by more than 30 per cent in the last two years. Srinivas said because of constraints faced by vendors, the production of Discover 125 ST could not be ramped up to meet increasing demand.