Bajaj XCD 135 DTS-Si hits powerband!

India's second largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Bajaj Auto Ltd. launched one of its first products of 2009, the XCD 135 DTS-Si, in January end and the deliveries began in February 2009. The bike has been welcomed by consumers and within the first fifteen days, Bajaj Auto sold more than 10,000 units of the new XCD 135 DTS-Si.

Bajaj Auto's facility located at Pantnagar which was commissioned in 2007, will now start the manufacturing of the new XCD 135 DTS-Si to meet the increasing demand for the new bike. Bajaj Auto was languishing at the back of the mid-level or 125cc segment and none of its earlier launches managed to shake Hero Honda top standing in the respective segment. With the sales of the new bike growing by the day, Bajaj Auto might have a winner on their hands with the new XCD.

The company is trying its best to promote the bike and wants to ride the wave of freshness until it lasts. The new TV commercial of the XCD 135 DTS-Si is already on air. With aggressive marketing and nation-wide availability of the bike, Bajaj Auto is aiming to sell close to 20,000 bikes by the end of February.

The XCD 135, fittingly bridges the gap between the popular 125cc segment and the steadily developing 150cc segment, providing buyers the best of both worlds.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Auto/Two-wheelers/Bajaj-XCD-135-DTS-Si-hits-powerband/articleshow/4192994.cms

Bajaj Auto to Focus on Mid-Segment

16/02/2009,Business Standard

Bajaj Auto Limited, a major player in the two wheeler market has reworked its bike strategy with an aim to focus more on the value segment

The company plans to increase and consolidate its market share in this segment by the end of this year.

Speaking at the launch of the XCD 135 DTS-Si in Kolkata, Susheel Kumar Bajpai, regional manager (West Bengal and North East) said that The new motor cycle XCD 135 DTS-Si is part of the company's strategy to increase and consolidate its market share in the value segment, two more mid-segment bikes are slated to be launched by the middle of April.

At present, the company enjoys close to a 28 per cent market share in this segment in Bengal. With the new XCD 135 DTS-Si in market, BAL hoped to increase its market share in the 125 cc and above category segment to 32 per cent in the state by the end of this financial year, he informed.The company hopes to sell 20,000 units of this model per month nationally.

In Bengal, the company had been selling close to 4,000 units per month in the last quarter compared to 5,000 units in the year ago period.

We hope to pull up sales up by another 1,500 more units per month totalling to 5,500 units in the remaining two months of the current fiscal, said Bajpai.

The first batch of the Bajaj XCD 135 DTS-Si will be rolled out of the Aurangabad plant in Maharashtra, while subsequent production will take place at Bajaj's Pantnagar facility in Uttarakhand.

Priced at Rs 45,937 the company hopes that the bike would fill the vacuum of Bajaj Autos portfolio, between the low-end and high-end two wheeler markets.

Sales and market share of the company had been plummeting due to the current economic slowdown and poor availability of finance. As part of its revival programme, the company is also aggressively promoting its finance arm Bajaj Auto Finance Ltd and is in talks with some other banks.

The company enjoys a dominant share at the entry level and premium segments, but the recent market trends point towards a growing preference for bikes in the 125 cc and above category and hence the company plans to bring in more such models in this segment to help consolidate its market share.