Pulsar is the most profitable bike in the world, Rajiv Bajaj claims.
With earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, or Ebitda, margins over 20%, Bajaj Auto is also the most profitable auto company, he purred, as he took the wraps off the much-awaited new generation bike that’s slated to hit the roads in April.
There’s beef in the claims, analysts aver, because the company rolls out a million Pulsars every year, a quarter of which is exported.
The 200 cc Pulsar NS, unveiled on Monday, also marks the company’s push towards sportier bikes.
Analysts see the launch favourably. After all, the brand, launched over a decade ago, helped Bajaj Auto carve out a huge market share in motorcycles.
“The new generation Pulsar is an answer to the competition. The only critical factor would be the pricing, which will decide the market response of the product,” said an analyst with a domestic brokerage house, requesting anonymity.
Bajaj said the bike would cost under Rs1 lakh, which throws the gauntlet at rivals in the space.
He said the Pulsar 200NS is a completely new product, designed in-house. It boasts of a new technology called Triple Spark engine, which will replace the DTS-i (Digital Twin Spark-ignition) technology launched in 2003.
“The next financial year is going to be big for Bajaj Auto as far as motorcycle launches are concerned,” Bajaj said. “Not just one, we will have more Pulsars on the new technology, going ahead. There will be a bigger Pulsar launched next year,” he said. The company plans to come up with a 350cc variant.
Interestingly, KTM, the Austrian bike manufacturer in which Bajaj Auto has a 40% stake, will follow a similar product strategy, including launching a 350cc bike.
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