Bajaj Auto takes another shot at Hero with new Discover T
India's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto is taking another shot at bridging the gap and even trying to beat the market leader Hero MotoCorp. And its fighting it out in the mass market, where Hero, with its Splendor and Passion range of motorcycles, has been long dominant.
January 07, 2013 / 18:12 IST
Moneycontrol Bureau
India's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto is taking another shot at bridging the gap and even trying to beat the market leader Hero MotoCorp. And its fighting it out in the mass market, where Hero, with its Splendor and Passion range of motorcycles, has been long dominant.On Monday, Bajaj Auto launched the much anticipated 100 cc motorcycle, which it has long said will the most technologically advanced bike in the segment. Named the Discover 100T, the bike has been launched in the upper-end of the 100cc commuter segment and has been priced at Rs 50,500 ex-showroom New Delhi.The 'T' in Discover T stands for Tourer and is powered by 4 valve DTS-i technology. The company claims a fuel efficiency of 87 kmpl.The bike is based on the new platform, which it shares with the Discover 125.Bajaj has been dominant in the sports segment with its Pulsar range of motorcycles. But it has always had to play a second fiddle to rival Hero, which with Splendor and Passion has for long accounted for three out of every four motorcycles sold in the commuter segment.But things are heating up.Bajaj Auto, last October, announced that its Discover brand had become the largest selling brand, beating the Splendor in September. Hero was quick to reiterate that the Splendor remains the top selling bike.Bajaj Auto is not the only one aiming to trump Hero. Former partner Honda, now as Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, too last year launched a commuter bike the Dream Yuga to take on Hero's might. And last week, Mahindra Two-Wheelers made its re-entry in the motorcycle segment with the 110 cc Pantero and Centuro motorcycles. Hero hasn't had a significant launch in the commuter segment in the recent past, an area which its rivals are ready to exploit. Hero on its part is investing heavily on research and development and has forged ties with US-based Eric Buell Racing and Italy's Engines Engineering. Its tie-up with Austria's AVL will help it develop technology for its bread and butter 100cc segment. The going is surely getting tough for Hero. But will, as the saying goes, the tough get going? Its surely going to be an action packed road ahead.
Hero, for now, remains India's top two-wheeler maker with almost 5.42 lakh units sold in December. Bajaj Auto sold 2.98 lakh motorcycles, last month. But analysts say Hero will have to launch new bikes, especially in the commuter segment, soon if it wants to stay ahead of the competition.Nachiket Kelkar
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