Bajaj Auto has begun production of the XCD 125 at its new plant in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.
MUMBAI: Bajaj Auto has begun production of the XCD 125 at its new plant in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand.
The bike is already being manufactured at the company’s Waluj facility in Auranagabad.
The idea of the second plant is to ensure that the targeted numbers of 75,000 units a month are met soon. Indications are that this could well happen in a couple of months.
The XCD is an important growth driver for the company in the executive segment where Hero Honda is the clear leader with its Splendor and Passion models. Bajaj believes its product has all the right ingredients in place, especially price, power and mileage, to be a worthy competitor.
The Pantnagar plant, which was commissioned in April this year, is already home to the 100cc Platina.
It has a cluster of 16 vendors nearby, including big names like Pricol, Endurance, Varroc, Minda Industries etc, which meet over 75% of its needs.
The facility has been planned for a capacity of a million bikes and makes tremendous financial sense to Bajaj Auto because of the generous tax incentives granted by the State.
This has helped Uttarakand to attract other big automakers like Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland and Hero Honda despite the fact that it is not the most ideal location in terms of access from Delhi.
Bajaj is betting big on this state-of-the art plant which boasts of high employee productivity and is tipped to do even better than its model Chakan facility near Pune. Thanks to the fiscal sops, bigger profits are also assured for the XCD.
This does not mean, though, that operations will eventually stop at Waluj.
It is the manufacturing base for the three-wheeler autorickshaw and the company will need the additional capacity to satiate demand for the XCD.
Bajaj recently stopped operations at its Akurdi facility and is in the process of commissioning a new unit in Chakan for its light commercial vehicle project. This, sources say, could also house the $3,000 small car which is being planned jointly with Renault and Nissan in 2010.
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