So Bajaj's launching a new Discover, this time around a 100cc bike, on 17th July '09. Here are excerpts from an article in today's Economic Times:
Critically, Bajaj Auto rules the larger segments and has brought to bear all its expertise with a bike, which is larger, more comfortable, surer, handles better and is armed with an engine which might displace 100cc, but has response, power and refinement of a higher class. Many might think there is a catch here, but again, thanks to finely-developed technology by the Stars Ahead team, fuel efficiency will play a critical role in the overall appeal of the bike.
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Rajiv Bajaj clarified in these words:
"In 2007, we said we really don't believe that 100cc bikes are the future. Now, as far as I'm concerned, the first erroneous interpretation was that Bajaj is not interested in 100cc customers, which we clarified by saying that we’re interested in every customer, we just want them to upgrade to something that's more fun.
"The second assumption was that Bajaj is not interested in making a '100cc' bike. And, in my view, that is both right and wrong. It is right because we're not interested in making a bike that is 'born' as a 100cc bike, like a Boxer, or a 4S, or a CT, or a Platina. It was very clear that the 100cc bike territory belongs to someone else and whether you are TVS, Yamaha or Bajaj, no one has been successful in exploiting that.
"To get the normal 100cc customers to upgrade, we had to use something which was already proven, so ultimately, price as a reflection of brand strength in the market place was what we chose to base our premise on. And so, our concept was, 'let's move people up to Discover, but without the high premium this bike in 125 cc and 135 cc displacements commands and delivers."
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What will emerge on July 17, is an all new 100cc engine with more power and torque, even better engine response than any other 100cc engine in the country and surely a bike which should break the ton, not in speed, but in fuel efficiency. In fact, while the ARAI figures for ideal fuel efficiency under standard test conditions could exceed the three-figure mark, the bike has already set an 89 kmpl figure in the Indian Driving Cycle tests.
My focus is on the words highlighted in bold above. If 100cc territory belongs to someone else then why put a 'successful' brand at stake, especially the one which has commanded premium until now? Coz there are greater volumes, and therefore greater business in that segment. And if a brand gets sacrificed to capture a significant portion of the territory, so be it. But this is the company's side of the story. Wishful too.
100cc can be termed as economy segment. And beyond doubt, economy in this segment is largely attached to mileage. Hero Honda Splendor owns that space.
But is that all to the story? Is that all that the consumers need? Besides economy, a 100cc consumer needs many other things, right? So Hero Honda Passion is for style. What else can the consumers look for?
Power, performance, space (longer, broader seats), stability, sturdiness, etc. There's a lot more that 100cc motorcycle brands can use for positioning.
As an analogy, would like to recall what Tata Indica did to India's most successful small car Maruti 800. Indica almost matched Maruti 800 in mileage but it couldn't have talked about it. Maruti 800 owned that for years together. But Tata Indica had a lot more to offer. More space, more power, more stability. So it said "More car per car" and created its own segment.
If you look at the description of the 100cc Bajaj Discover in the excerpts above, it seems like it fits the "More bike per bike" approach. If that's how the brand gets positioned, Bajaj would have a winner on its hands finally in the 100cc category. Besides it also doesn't run the danger that accompanied Indica coz of brand Tata (strong heritage in trucks & utility vehicles).
If, by chance, this new motorcycle is positioned as I've speculated, I wonder whether it needed to be branded Discover. Any other name could've been as potent and perhaps more distinctive. Guess the motorcycle borrows a lot in terms of styling from Discover and that's why the necessity to give it the name Discover.
Surely, O&M must've slotted the bike by now. Eager to know about it.
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