Bajaj Auto to infuse more mojo into 125cc motorcycles this fiscal

Sales of the Freedom 125 have been tepid but Bajaj Auto has reiterated that the world’s first CNG motorcycle represents its commitment to “breakthrough innovation while reimagining mobility.”

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Bajaj Auto will focus on on restoring competitiveness in the “strategically important” 125cc+ motorcycle segment during this fiscal, according to its 2024-25 annual report. The company will also look at unlocking the full potential of the GoGo brand in the electric three-wheeler space, “mirroring our leadership” in the ICE category. Likewise, the new Chetak electric scooter range will be executed with the intent to “significantly step up” volumes and market share. Multiple product launches across the KTM and Triumph portfolios are planned to further strengthen Bajaj Auto’s global market positioning. “Throughout this journey, we remain mindful of margin pressures arising from an increasingly competitive landscape and a strengthening rupee,” states the company.Also read:
Bajaj Auto on the go with its GoGo electric 3-wheeler brand

Chairman, Niraj Bajaj, has said in the report that sales of the “strategically important and focused segment” of the 125cc+ motorcycle segment hit a new peak. Pulsar, the flagship brand, remains a strong force in the sports motorcycle segment, “leading the charge as a symbol of Indian engineering and excellence”.

Targeted actions

While overall domestic motorcycles performance was subdued by a relatively weak second half that saw a loss of market share, “we view this as a critical area and are taking clear and targeted actions to regain momentum”.

Sales of the recently launched Freedom 125 have also been tepid but Bajaj Auto has reiterated that the world’s first CNG motorcycle represents its commitment to “breakthrough innovation while reimagining mobility”. Freedom 125, the company states, is more than a bike; it is a statement of how engineering and environmental stewardship can go hand in hand.

That your Company not only navigated this transition but delivered its best-ever performance is a testament to the very versatile nature of our business, which drives the resilience of our results. When one engine slows, the other steps up — allowing the enterprise to stay on course.Niraj Bajaj

The preceding fiscal also saw domestic demand slowing down for Bajaj Auto in the second half while exports accelerated sharply. “That your Company not only navigated this transition but delivered its best-ever performance is a testament to the very versatile nature of our business, which drives the resilience of our results. When one engine slows, the other steps up — allowing the enterprise to stay on course,” said the Chairman.According to him, the other bit of good news was the “surefooted progress” that Bajaj Auto had made on building the electric vehicles business which now account for 20% of domestic sales. More importantly, Chetak achieved segment leadership position on electric scooters during the fiscal that went by.

Chetak on a roll

“This was the year in which Chetak hit leadership in the electric scooters market as volumes more than doubled year-on-year. The launch of the affordable variant earlier in the year and rapid expansion of the network to over 4,000 touchpoints were key interventions that propelled the business to leadership,” said Niraj Bajaj. The company’s partner brands, KTM and Triumph, clocked nearly one lakh units domestically, reflecting the growing preference for premium mobility and “our decisive presence” in this space. “Buoyed by the strength of an expanded/upgraded portfolio and a wider reach in terms of city and dealership coverage, the interventions are yielding encouraging results,” he added.

Also read:
Bajaj, KTM will pull out all the stops in new revival plan

The electric three-wheeler business, which is under two years old, rapidly scaled up too with a three-fold increase in market share and further going on to achieve segment leadership at the start of FY26.

Exports also staged a strong comeback with double-digit growth that was led by Latin America, which continued its strong momentum, registering yet another high over what was already a record performance last year. “Our brands continue to enjoy deep trust and loyalty among customers, helping us reclaim volumes and drive share across markets,” he said.

Bullish on Brazil

The recently launched Brazil business has grown scale quarter after quarter particularly after supplies were unlocked following the commissioning of the first company-owned overseas assembling facility in Manaus in June 2024. The business ended the year at a quarterly run rate that was in excess of what it sold for all of the previous financial year.

To leverage the attractive market opportunity, capacity is being further increased, the portfolio augmented and the network expanded to cover the country. I truly believe Brazil will emerge as a sizable and exciting market for us in the years ahead.Niraj Bajaj

“To leverage the attractive market opportunity, capacity is being further increased, the portfolio augmented and the network expanded to cover the country. I truly believe Brazil will emerge as a sizable and exciting market for us in the years ahead,” said Niraj Bajaj.

Summing up, the company would remain committed to driving competitiveness in the strategically relevant and important 125cc+ motorcycle segment while scaling up Chetak even further with a view to growing volumes, market share leadership and improving unit economics.

Bajaj Auto would also focus on expanding and replicating market leadership in the electric three-wheeler segment and thereby mirroring the strong position built in the ICE category. It would also strive to sustain and broad base the recovery in exports while leveraging the uptick across select overseas markets. The company would stay the course “relentlessly” on delivering differentiated product innovation, impactful in-market activation and superior customer experience.

Project Velocity

The year also saw Bajaj Auto kicking off Project Velocity which involved a thorough analysis of business units, leadership-led reviews, and “iterative refinements” to each unit’s organisation structure. This was followed by a carefully thought out mapping of talent to key roles, ensuring alignment with business priorities, and stronger cross-functional collaboration.

“It resulted in simplification of the organisation structure and flattening of the leadership layers to provide perfect correlation between our leadership levels, 4S framework and our leadership competency framework,” said the Chairman.

As I reflect on the year gone by, for me it has brought home a profound business truth – in uncharted waters, competitiveness comes not from always having the wind at your back, but from being able to adroitly adjust your sails as the winds shift.Niraj Bajaj

All this revolved around simplicity of strategy, (anticipate the future with simplicity); singularity of objectives (drive singularity of alignment across the organisation); synergy of teams (bring synergies by enabling the cross functional teams to continuously adapt to the dynamic environment); and speed of execution (act with speed in flawlessly executing and continuously improving).

According to Niraj Bajaj, these changes have already started to positively impact agility, efficiency and speed of execution within the ecosystem. “As I reflect on the year gone by, for me it has brought home a profound business truth – in uncharted waters, competitiveness comes not from always having the wind at your back, but from being able to adroitly adjust your sails as the winds shift,” he observed.

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