The Discover range has always been Bajaj's favourite guinea pig when it comes to experimentation. Now though, Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto has admitted that this experimentation was a misstep and that it negatively impacted the company’s growth.
Over the past few years, Bajaj has launched the Discover in a number of iterations, eventually axing them when they failed to hit the right chord with the audience. Right from the barebones Discover 100 to the semi-faired Discover 150F, the Discover range has seen it all. However, the higher capacity and more expensive variants have always been in the shadow of the Pulsar 150 DTS-i, as customers preferred shelling out extra cash and going for the sportier brand rather than buy an expensive Discover. The 100cc customers on the other hand have preferred to stick to the Platina and CT100 range.
This repetitive introduction and discontinuation of different variants have played a major role in affecting the performance of the company, which was flat on growth in the 2012 to 2015 period. Right now, Bajaj only has the Discover 125 in its line-up. The 150cc segment is taken care of by the new V15, Pulsar and Avenger motorcycles, while the lower down 100cc segment is handled by the Platina and CT100. Though the website still lists Discover 150S and Discover 150F, very few dealers accept orders for these models.
Speaking about the Discover range and their future plans, Mr Bajaj said, “While exports compensated, the balance had now shifted in favour of the Indian market. So since Jan 2015, we changed direction and we can see results. In the next 12 months will be a challenging but exciting time for us. We have identified four growth engines to rev up and the full thrust will be seen in the next year.”
Source: TheHindu
