Bajaj Auto has exported Made in India motorcycles to Japan, home of motorcycle giants including Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki.
The first consignment of the 125cc KTM bikes was sent from the Chakan plant in Pune on Wednesday, K Srinivas, president (motorcycle business), Bajaj Auto, said. ?This is the first time that a motorcycle maker from India has done this. The bike was fully made in India,? Srinivas said.
Bajaj Auto holds a 47% stake in KTM, an Austrian bike maker. The KTM 125 has been jointly developed by KTM and Bajaj Auto. ?KTM did not have motorcycles in this segment and is sourcing the KTM 125 cc from Bajaj Auto for the world market,? Srinivas said. Bajaj Auto also sells the KTM Duke 200cc sports motorcycle in the Indian market and is currently selling about 1,000 units a month. These bikes are being sold through the Probiking stores that Bajaj Auto developed for selling high-end bikes. These stores have been rebranded as KTM Stores and will sell KTM and Kawasaki Ninja bikes.
The KTM 200 and the next gen Pulsar 200 NS were developed at the same time. As part of the new model launches lined for the year, Bajaj Auto began delivering the new Pulsar 200 NS in Pune on Thursday. The bike has been aggressively priced at R84,096 (ex-showroom Pune) and is expected to take on competition from the Honda CBR 250R and R15 Yamaha in the sports bike segment in India.
According to Srinivas, this segment had a flat 2011-12 and had not grown because of the slowdown in the motorcycle segment. ?But this segment responds to stimulus. If you put a radically new product it will create stimulus and do well. We expect good response in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune which are the big markets for the sports bikes,? Srinivas said.
