Wednesday, June 08, 2011
By Pranjal Gera
Bajaj says that the upcoming car platform is feasible without the Renault deal
Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Motors said that the forthcoming car platform by Bajaj for Renault-Nissan will be having many uses and will be self-profitable.
He stated that the newly developed car platform is designed to manufacture new-generation three-wheelers and vans, with the platform being highly adaptive to the needs of the company can be changed accordingly.
He also said that the company has signed the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) deal which will empower them to manufacture a small car that will be sold under the brand name of Renault-Nissan which will be very beneficial for them and it will be produced on the same platform.
He said that they were happy to act as OEM for Renault-Nissan, which will be selling the product globally under there name. He also said that the prototype is yet to be shown and work is under progress.
The present project that Bajaj holds is to develop a fuel efficient car for the European company which will cover 30 km in just 1 liter of petrol and it will be made available in the market by 2012.
It is greatly feared that if this project fails or is delayed, Bajaj will suffer heavy losses of an unrevealed amount.
Bajaj is also working to develop a new three wheeler to replace our country’s five million auto rickshaws. The new three-wheeler is expected to be more comfortable, spacious and secure and above all, it will be less polluting and more fuel efficient then its present version. The price of the newer version will be about 15 -20 per cent more then the present price.
Bajaj is also trying to take a leap in to the new emerging four-wheeler passenger van segment and it may also try to take over Tata Ace. It is also planning to produce a commercial vehicle of smaller size.
Bajaj has already rejected the proposal of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) to increase the production to four million products a year.
HMSI had earlier declined its production of motorcycles, especially in 100 cc segment because they wanted to avoid a direct competition with Munjals of Hero Honda, their old partners.
Bajaj also quoted that they are the kings in 150cc segment and even though they have a small product range as compared to their competitors, still they have the highest sales in this segment. With a per month sale of 95,000 motorcycles, Bajaj outruns HMSI by a large difference in the sales of 125cc-250cc category.
