Check out the launch of 100cc, my biggest career mistake: Rajiv Bajaj

Bombay: Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj on Thursday described the launch of the 100cc variant of the Discover commuter bike as the “biggest mistake” of his career as it delayed the company to second place.

He highlighted that the Discover was a differentiating product when launched in the 125cc format, “delivering mileage with a bit of fun”, which was evident from the growing volumes.

However, Bajaj lamented that the company is still the second largest player (in terms of motorcycle volumes) in the country due to the mistake it made with the launch of the lower variant of the Discover and things would have been different if she had not done so.

“Greed took over. The marketing people said that if the Discover 125 cc sold this much, how much would a Discover 100 cc sell? We decided to launch the Discover 100 cc. We lost our position and five years later, we also lost our performance…”

“We started as a differentiator, with a different perception and USP, but ended up being a ‘me too’ product. Me too, it’s bad in life and in marketing,” he said at an event in the city.

Read also : Bajaj Auto’s second quarter profit falls 1% on weak sales, high input costs

He was, however, optimistic about the prospects of KTM, an Austrian racing brand in which the company invested in 2007.

He recalled that when Bajaj Auto invested in KTM in 2007, the company produced only 65,000 motorcycles and was still the second largest European motorcycle brand. In contrast, Harley Davidson produced an average of 3.5 lakhs.

But this is no longer the case as Harley is in decline as it is estimated to end up with 2.4 lakh units this year, while KTM will end up with 2.7 lakh units, he said. -he declares.

Bajaj Auto also plans to enter the electric vehicle sector next year, although it lamented that the industry has been receiving step-motherly treatment towards electric vehicles, by launching cheap variants.

“We could have created a Tesla on two wheels or a Tesla on three wheels and created different new things…we’re going to try to do that in 2019 now,” he said.

Read also : Bajaj Auto partners with Triumph to take on Royal Enfield

This story was published from an agency feed without modifications to the text.