The Discover 150 notched up sales of 28,000 units in September. While this may seem minuscule in Bajaj Auto’s overall bike tally of 3.47 lakh units for the month, it is still in line with its revival strategy for the commuter segment.
Over the next three months, the company will keep an eye on customer response to the Discover 150 as this will decide the next course of action. “We will wait till end-December to gauge market reaction to the Discover 150. If things are on the right track, there will be more action in the 125cc space with the same brand,” Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director, told Auto Focus .
According to Bajaj, sales of commuter motorcycles average around seven lakh units each month of which a lion’s share is taken up by 100cc models. The 125cc space takes up the balance two lakh units and this is where he sees huge potential for growth of the Discover brand. “We are a global company and the only challenge on our hands is to get the Discover back on track in India. We realise that we need to revive mindshare for the brand. This is where the Discover 150 is expected to play its part as the ultimate commuter motorcycle,” Bajaj says. The challenge, however, is that while the bike could meet its objective in creating mindshare, it will still be a big leap for buyers of commuter bikes. As a result, its numbers could be relatively limited but will do the more important job of drawing customers to the showroom. This is where the company hopes to leverage the learnings from the success of the 150 and implement these in its 125cc range. If the script works according to plan, the wheel will have come full circle since the time the Discover was first launched way back in 2004. The objective was to be a differentiator brand in the traditional 100cc commuter space where (the then) Hero Honda had the Splendor and Passion as the clear leaders.
In hindsight A decade has passed by and even while Hero and Honda have parted ways, the former continues to rule the roost with these two brands as the key growth levers. In the case of Bajaj Auto, the big breaks in the commuter segment continue to be elusive even while its Pulsar sports brand continues to do well.
Its MD believes that in hindsight, the company should have introduced the Discover 150 two years ago. This would have ensured that it did not deviate from its strategy of being different in the commuter space. This lapse led to the proliferation of other 125cc brands.
Bajaj is only too aware that 80 per cent of commuter bike buyers typically opt for 100cc options and the new bike will, therefore, have to compete for the attention of the balance 20 per cent. The September numbers are encouraging since they clearly show that the plan is working out. Eventually, the Discover 150 will have to play its part in lifting the brand and pave the way for bigger volumes in the commuter space. This is the only way it can take on Hero Motocorp’s commuter duo – the Splendor and Passion.