Swaraj Baggonkar Moneycontrol News
Bajaj Auto, India’s fourth largest two-wheeler manufacturer, will bring back the Discover brand in the economy segment with a launch scheduled on January 10.
The Pune-based motorcycle specialist will kick off the new year with the age-old brand to gain market share in the budget category where market leader Hero Motocorp is the strongest.
The Discover 110 is expected to be priced competitively at around Rs 46,000-48,000. Though the entry segment has seen a gradual fall in demand over the years, it still commands a share of 60 percent in the overall motorcycle market.
As per data shared by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), Delhi-based Hero Motocorp had a market share of 74 percent in the up to 110cc motorcycle segment followed by 13 percent of Bajaj and 8 percent of Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India.
The Discover 110 launch comes close on the heels of Hero Motocorp showcasing three motorcycles last month — Super Splendor 125, Passion Pro 110 and Passion Xpro 110 — that would be progressively launched this month.
Presently, Bajaj has only one model on sale under the Discover brand, which is powered by a 125cc engine and priced at Rs 53,000. Sources say that this model, too, will be given a facelift.
Little more than 14 months ago, Bajaj Auto had brought curtains on three Discover models, 100, 110M and 125M. Year before that the 125ST and more recently the 150F and 150S, all under the Discover brand were phased out.
Bajaj tried to position the Discover brand as a slightly premium alternative to the budget 100cc bikes where it has the Platina and CT100. Discover models have more aggressive styling than rivals but are marketed on the promise of greater fuel efficiency.
First introduced in 2004, the Discover was launched with a 125cc engine, complementing the powerful Pulsar 150 and Pulsar 180 at that time. The company phased out Discover completely following dwindling demand only to bring it back some years ago to pose a challenge to the Hero Splendor.
Platina and CT100 make up more than half of Bajaj’s sales every month while 14 other models make up the balance of sales including the Pulsar and Avenger series. Demand for a bulk of such budget models come from markets outside the cities especially from the Tier III markets.
Bajaj hopes to close the final quarter with a share of 24 percent in the total motorcycle segment riding high on a refreshed range of Pulsars and new variants on the Platina and CT100 models.
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