'Expensive' 100-cc bike from Bajaj soon

Bajaj Auto will launch a 100-cc bike with advanced features by December-January.

'We will launch the most advanced 100-cc bike which will probably be the most expensive in its category,' said K Srinivas, president, motorcycle business, Bajaj Auto here on Wednesday.

'We have to differentiate ourselves in the segment,' he said. 'Therefore, it is not going to be priced at R40,000. The price will be significantly higher.'

Industry speculation is that the bike may be based on the Discover platform, but company sources say the upcoming bike may be an all-new brand.

Meanwhile, Bajaj claimed that its Discover brand has become 'the largest selling bike in the world' surpassing Hero's 'Splendor' brand which has dominated Indian bike market for more than a decade.

Discover clocked sales of 1,22,968 units in August while Splendor clocked 1,21,018 units. 'We were ahead for a month, but we believe we can sustain this momentum when the export of the newly launched Discover 125cc starts soon,' Srinivas said.

Discover has 100cc, 125cc and 150cc variants.

'We sold 35,000 units of the new Discover 125 cc. We expect to sell 45,000 units this month and 50,000 units next month,' he said.

Srinivas said the company is closing the gap with market leader Hero Motocorp in motorcycle sales.

'Including both domestic and overseas sales, Hero now holds 39% of the market while we hold 35%,' he said, adding the company will expand capacity at all its three plants.