[Viju]

Originally Posted by abhi29

Curious to know what the bashing brigade wants to say now

abhi29

If you go through most of the posts on this thread, they all say the same thing - Bajaj relies less on a well-defined strategy, than good luck. The numbers you have posted just confirms that this particular gamble of re-introducing the CT100 worked - for now. To be honest, I don't see this success being repeated month-on-month, say 6 months from now.

The problem with launching, phasing out, relaunching models with very short life-cycles in a market like India is that the common customer does not take to it very kindly. People who buy these machines use them for years. They don't want to be told by the service center that a unique part for their model is not available 2 or 3 years after they purchased their bike. This kind of strategy does not help in creating a loyal following for your product.

Every company (including Honda) makes mistakes. Someone mentioned the Eterno - that did not work for Honda. They tried replacing their age old Unicorn 150 with the new 160cc, and had to relaunch the old model less than a year down the line. That is how the Indian market works.

But what I believe is that Bajaj should stand by it's own products for a bit longer - even if sales go down for a few months. Killing off and relaunching products every year or two is not going to help them in the long run. Period. And I am no Bajaj-basher. I would love to see any Indian OEM do well in the global market!

If Hero can sell the 25 year old Splendor with negligible changes, why can Bajaj not continue to sell the CT100 which has been a best-seller at some point in time?

And yes, no matter what Mr. Bajaj says now, if he wants volumes, he is doing a big mistake by staying away from the automatic scooter market right now. One doesn't need more than a single slide presentation to see that!

[abhi29]

Originally Posted by Viju

The problem with launching, phasing out, relaunching models with very short life-cycles in a market like India is that the common customer does not take to it very kindly. People who buy these machines use them for years. They don't want to be told by the service center that a unique part for their model is not available 2 or 3 years after they purchased their bike. This kind of strategy does not help in creating a loyal following for your product.

Sir, I totally agree on the above. I am not a big fan of their crowded overlapping portfolio, especially with their relaunch-phase out game. Not getting into scoots is another mystery, especially when more and more players like Yamaha and Mahindra are investing and starting to gain ground.

That being said, I also think we need to take a neutral perspective of things and wait for the numbers to come in without passing blanket judgements. This particular move looked like a gamble, but we can't write-off their strategy as a whole, especially when they have done a few things right in the higher segments.

[PNTLovesNano]

Originally Posted by abhi29

Curious to know what the bashing brigade wants to say now

Numbers need perspective. First, Discover 100 and Platina (not the ES and DTSi current engine one) were together selling nearly 100000 per month a few years back. The older Platina had the same CT100 engine which was launched in 2004. That CT100 was replaced by XCD which in turn was replaced by Discover 100. The old Platina had generated separate volumes. Today, both the Platina and Discover 100 are extinct and again replaced by CT100. In between Bajaj has silently also launched CT100B which is nothing but good old Boxer CT with new stickers. Also, there is speculation of launch of oldest brand "Champion". A couple of years down the line, we may get to see Caliber, Wind, Aspire, XCD, etc. Of course, it would then be Discover's turn again. Interesting, isn't it? Oh, why leave the Eliminator just because Avenger is still there? Wait, Chetak as a bike may also generate sales, so that should also be considered. And then Priya and the Legend too. The poor M-80 would be the only one left. Bring that too on.

Oops, I missed the Boxer AT and AR version, so silly of me

[abhi29]

Originally Posted by PNTLovesNano

Numbers need perspective.

True that, its hard not to agree with that analysis . With that perspective, most of the things they have done over the last decade looks like hit-n-trial.

I can't defend the undefendable, rest my case here.