BANGALORE: Bajaj Auto has unveiled its latest offering — the Bajaj ‘CT 100’, a four- stroke, 100 cc motorcycle.
Bajaj hopes that the CT 100 will help to consolidate its overall position in the motorcycle market. ‘‘This is a very important move by the company to gain market share in both the executive and entry-level segments,’’ Mr R L Ravichandran, vice- president (sales & marketing), Bajaj Auto said at the launch.
Mr Ravichandran said the bike priced at Rs 31,990 (ex-showroom) has the potential to attract the entry-level consumer whose primary motivations were price, fuel efficiency, reliability and resale value, as well as the executive segment consumer who wanted style and power in addition to all these attributes.
The 8.2 bhp, CT 100 comes with a two-year, 24,000 kilometre warranty. It offers mileage of 101 kilometres per litre, and a unique ride control switch, which alternates between economy and power mode, helping the rider achieve better mileage. The company expects to sell 4 lakh - 5 lakh units in this financial year.
Presently Bajaj claims to have a 32% market share in the entry-level segment (2003-04) with its ‘Boxer’ series, and a 12% share in the executive segment with the ‘Wind’ and ‘Hoodibaba’ motorcycles.
The executive segment forms about 56% of the total motorcycle market. In 2003-04, the total number of Bajaj motorcycles sold were 10,26,000 putting its market share at about 24%. With its new product, the company is also hoping to tap into the performance segment (comprising 12% of the motorcycle segment) where it claims to have 60%-plus market share.
Mr Ravichandran said the company did 15% less than expected in May sales. ‘‘Feedback from our dealers put the reason down to the elections,’’ he said. Bajaj is expecting total sales of its Boxer AT, Boxer AR and the newly launched CT 100 motorcycles to be 50,000 units a month.
Wave in October: Meanwhile, Bajaj has announced it will be launching ‘Wave’, an automatic scooter, in October this year. Targeted at working women and college girls, it will incorporate the company’s DTSI engine technology. Mr Ravichandran said the offering would fill the gap in this segment for the company. Overall automatic scooter sales stand at about 55,000 units per month at present.
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