According to a PTI report, launching the Bajaj Discover 100 in India was the "biggest blunder," Rajiv Bajaj has revealed publicly.
Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director - Bajaj Auto, said that the company not only lost its market position but performance as well. Mr Bajaj candidly revealed that he committed the biggest blunder by following the greedy advice of marketing people. Speaking to PTI, Rajiv Bajaj said:
We lost our position and five years later we lost our performance too. If 125cc Discover sells so much then how many would a 100cc Discover sell? We went ahead and made the 100cc discover. We started off as a point of difference, with a different perception and a USP, but we ended up being a 'me too' product. Me too is bad in life and marketing.
Bajaj Auto is known for not making a 'me too' product, and the failure of the Bajaj Discover 100 resulted in the company losing its market share. The Discover 100 used the same chassis and mechanicals as that of the 125cc sibling. The bike was available in two variants - M and T (mileage & power, respectively).
The Bajaj Discover 100 M was powered by a 102cc, single-cylinder, air-cooled motor that was capable of producing a maximum power of 9.1 bhp at 8,000 rpm along with a peak torque of 9.02 Nm at 6,000 rpm. The Discover 100 T, on the other hand, produced 9.3 bhp and 9.2 Nm. Both the engines were mated to a 5-speed gearbox.
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With that said, Bajaj Auto has a market share of 18.6 percent and a surplus cash and cash equivalents of INR 16,164 crore as of the quarter ended in September. The company has a market capitalisation of Rs 75,064.70 crore, according to the data available with BSE.
[Source - PTINews.com]
