Bajaj Auto deliberates for surge in prices, streamlines plans to capture greater market stake

Bajaj Auto, the second largest motorcycle manufacturer in India is planning to hike the prices of its two-wheeler range in the country owing to the persisting economic conditions where the value depreciating rupee has inversely affected the input costs. It was earlier this year that Bajaj Auto had pronounced rise in prices due to mounting input costs.

Mr. K. Srinivas, President - Motorcycle Business, Bajaj Auto Ltd. confirmed that the material costs is surging as the prices of these raw materials are equated in terms of dollar rate, which has currently plunged down the value of the Indian currency. So deliberations are on to shift the hike in input costs to the final price of the two-wheelers.

He further commented that at present, the production operations in the two-wheeler sector is highly localised while any imports by major motorcycle manufacturers is driven partly due to the cost advantage, which will now be eliminated as imports is highly discouraged with the rupee value depreciation.

Recently, the company has embarked upon the plans to acquire higher market share with the lunch of the new 125cc Discover ST. As per Mr. Srinivas, the 125 cc motorcycle segment is one of the captivating segments with a high growth of 38 percent witnessed last year.

The sales in the month of May reported by Bajaj Auto showcased a hike by 1.23 percent while in the corresponding month, the exports surged three percent. The company is gearing up to roll out new motorcycles in the coming months along with plans to expand production capacity.