INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE, NEW DELHI

2014

Bajaj Auto Limited Stage II Report

Submitted By:

Lalit Shukla 14PGDM089

Nishit Gupta 14PGDM100

Sajal Singhal 14PGDM107

Vatsal Anand 14PGDM129

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Table of contents

S/No Contents Page no

1 Overview 3

2 Transformation 3-4

3 Timeline 4

4 Pulsar 5

5 Product differentiation 5-6

6 Segmentation & Targeting 6-7

7 Positioning 8-9

8 SWOT analysis 9

9 PLC 10-11

10 Competition 11

11 Conclusion 11

12 References 12

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Overview

We identified Bajaj Auto Limited as the marketing company of our choice for the following project. Bajaj

Auto Limited was founded in the year 1945 and has been among the front-runners in the motorcycle

industry ever since. This very fact talks volumes about the company since only the best if firms survive

such a long time at the top. During the 60s, 70s and 80s there was a 10-year waiting period for its

products. The company only had to produce its quota. Marketing or sales was not too much of an issue

for them. Also the company’s owner was infamous for being part of the anti-liberalization lobby called

Bombay Club. However the firm faced a major crisis in the 90s and the early years of the new century

due to increased competition from both foreign and domestic markets. However Bajaj came out only

stronger with the competition and hardly depended on foreign help on this account. And the product,

which did this turnaround possible, was Pulsar.

The report chronologically shows the transformation of 2 wheeler market from scooters to motorcycles.

We are focusing on the strategies opted by BAL to segment, target and position its blockbuster product

“Pulsar” in Indian markets. We also look into the Product Life Cycle of Bajaj Pulsar. Lastly we look into

the future prospects of Bajaj Auto Limited as a whole.

Scooter to Bikes (Transformation)

Reason for the decline of Bajaj Scooter

Company manufacturing same type of vehicles with quality and style from the past 40years.

Bajaj Company never ever concentrates on product development

Bajaj Company has not pay attention on customer requirements

Lack of responsibility at decision, research and development and customer satisfaction

New motor cycles were enter in to the market

Young people population rapidly growing

Latest technology and design available in the market

Why Bajaj Shifted from Scooter to Motorcycles?

"Bharat is changing, Buland is changing, Bajaj is changing.”For Hamara Bajaj, the big change came in the

late nineties when the onslaught of the "Fill it, Forget it" Hero-Honda tilted the two wheeler market in

favour of motorcycles overnight. The main factors driving this change were

Demographic change: Soaring youth population.

Economic change: Increase in disposable income.

Technological change: Availability of technologically advanced motorcycles

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Bajaj Motorcycles

1986 – Kawasaki Bajaj KB100

1991 – Kawasaki Bajaj 4S Champion

1996 - Bajaj SX Enduro

1997 – (Bajaj KB125) Kawasaki Bajaj Boxer

1998 – Kawasaki Bajaj Caliber

2000 – Bajaj Prowler

2001 – Eliminator, Bajaj Pulsar, Caliber Croma

2003 – Caliber 115, Kawasaki Bajaj Wind 125, Bajaj PulsarDTS-i,

2004 – Bajaj CT 100, Bajaj Discover DTS-i

2005 – Bajaj Wave, Bajaj Avenger, Bajaj Discover 112

2006 – Bajaj Platina

2007 – Bajaj Pulsar-200 (Oil Cooled), Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi (Fuel Injection), XCD 125 DTS-Si

2008 – Bajaj Discover 135 DTS-i – sport (upgrade of existing 135 cc model)

2009 – Bajaj Pulsar 135, Bajaj XCD 135 cc, Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTS-i UG IV, Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTS-i UG

IV, Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-i, Bajaj Discover 100 DTS-Si, Kawasaki Ninja 250R

2010 – Bajaj Discover 150

2011 – Bajaj Discover 125

2012 – Bajaj Pulsar 200 NS, launch of 200 cc bike, Discover 125ST, launch of 125 cc bike

2013 - Bajaj Discover 125ST

2014 - Bajaj Pulsar 400SS, Pulsar 400CS,pulsar ss200

2014 - Bajaj Discover 150F, 150S

5

Pulsar

The '90s witnessed the birth of an emerging young India - the 'And' generation. Work hard, study

hard 'And' party hard. Western influence 'And' Indian values.

These young Indians' image of themselves was cool,

masculine and stylish. In their minds they were different from

the rest, and they wanted to ride a bike that matched their

personality, but all they got were ordinary 100ccs.

In 2001, Bajaj Auto launched a motorcycle with the intention

of introducing a new category and a new dimension in biking -

performance - and called it the Pulsar. The bike was launched

in two versions, 150cc and 180cc.The communication for the

product was based around the statements: It's a Boy and Definitely Male.

Product Differentiation:

1) Form:

Color11: Plasma Blue, Cocktail Wine, Red Midnight, Black Misty, Grey Silver

Pulsar 150cc, Pulsar 180cc, Pulsar 200cc and Pulsar with and without Fuel injection.

2) Design:

Digital odometer, Digital speedometer, Digital fuel gauge and two digital trip meters

First bike in India with 33 mm front fork for better shock absorbing facility.

Split seat for better riding and sitting comfort.

New petrol tank flaps give petrol tank an aerodynamic looks.

3) Features:

Vertical stack twin projector headlamps

Auto choke

Clip-on handle bar.

Digital Twin Spark Ignition

Engine oil cooler.

4) Durability:

The muscular aerodynamic shape of Pulsar DTS-i and its 1350 mm of wheel base with 17" large

alloy wheels give this Bajaj bike a robust presence on the road.

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Segmentation & Targeting:

Geographic:

Rural and Urban Segment: - Pulsar has been targeted towards urban youth.

Demographic:

Age: - Pulsar has been targeted towards youth.

Gender: - Pulsar has got a macho look and is definitely for male.

Income: - Pulsar has been positioned in the premium segment of bikes. It has been targeted to

the higher and upper-middle class of society.

Psychographic

Lifestyle: - Bajaj pulsar is the fastest bike in India, it is targeted towards the people who love

speed and adventure.

Personality: - Bajaj has teamed with Fast with Furious (movie) for promotion. This clearly shows

that pulsar is targeted to aggressive people. Pulsar is banking on its “The fastest Indian “tag.

Behavioral

Segmentation

Targeting

Positioning

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Benefits: - Pulsar is the leader among the performance bikes. It has got features which no other

bike provides in India.

User Status: - Pulsar has created a big hype among Indian youth. There are a lot of people who

are willing to buy the product.

Readiness Stage: - This bike has got lot of attention among Indian youth10.

Attitude toward Product: - Pulsar is very popular among bike enthusiasts.

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Positioning

Definitely Male

Bajaj stuck upon the Big Idea of India's He-Bike. Although lots of bikes take the persona of Macho bikes

it was more oriented towards being "sexy". The Big Idea was to position the bike as World's first bike

endowed with a Sex (Gender).Thus born the classic campaign of all

times “Definitely Male". The campaign together with the design and

performance catapulted the brand into stratospheric sales level.

Digital Biking

When DTSI was launched, the creative duty was assigned to Leo Burnett. Leo Burnett did a big mistake

on the brand by changing the positioning of “Definitely Male" to "Digital Biking". Although the ads were

successful in conveying the technological superiority of DTSI and making that acronym popular, it

deleted the most successful tagline from the brand's elements.

Free Biking

Hamara Bajaj

Definetely Male

Digital Biking

Free Biking

Distinctily Ahead

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After ruling the premium bike segment, Bajaj took their brand to another level. Bajaj launched Bajaj

Pulsar 200 Dtsi to take on the comeptition from Hero Honda and the like. Pulsar 200 is being launched

with a new campaign revolving round the concept of Free Biking. Free Biking (as defined by the brand

Pulsar) is all about tackling obstacles.

Distinctly Ahead

Bajaj now is using the corporate brand tagline “Distinctly Ahead", showing it distinct and ahead from its

competitor on the ground of the features and quality that Bajaj bikes

possess. Bajaj earlier had another corporate tagline “Inspiring

Confidence" when it completely redesigned its corporate logo and

brand.

SWOT Analysis

STRENGTHS

1.Excellent brand name

2. . Extensive R&D focus

3. High performance products across all categories

4. Product design and development capabilities

5. Widespread distribution network

WEAKNESS

1. Mileage on a lower side due to focus on Power

2. High cost in various variants

3. Styles and Design

4. Pricing

5.The fuel tank capacity

OPPORTUNITIES

1)Expansion to rural sector 2) Competing in the international market

3) Developmental changes 4)Bajaj as a true MNC

.

THREATS

1.New Entrants 2.Competitors

3.Low Priced Bikes

SWOT

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Product Life Cycle

Introduction

Chetak was launched in 1972 ruled the middle class life with a status of two wheelers. Chetak was an

avoidable gift to the newly married couple in 70’s and 80’s. It used to have a waiting list on delivery for

about 10 years.

Growth

Bajaj chetak has huge brand equity. The brand has a persona of “work horse”. With a reasonable price

affordable by the Indian middle class families. The low maintenance of the product made this product a

big hit in the automobile industry. With the slogan of ‘hamara bajaj’ it has gone in to millions of families

as a family vehicle.

Maturity

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No matter what the design and model is the brand name Bajaj dominated the design and model. Even

the customer had no objections about the model or the design as the brand name earned a lot of

durable trust in customers its strong body, low maintenance and good mileage is what the customer

attracted to.

Decline

The initial reason is that the Brand neglected the customers, another case of Marketing Myopia. The

company completely failed to understand the changing perception of the customers towards scooters.

Rather than looking at the customers, the company focused on influencing Government to block the

opening up of economy. Bajaj never seriously looked at customer perception about Chetak. The product

had serious problems like starting trouble and riding comfort. The "Tilting the chetak to the side for

starting" was a common joke. Did the company do anything for that? No!!!

Competition

Some of the major competitors of Bajaj with bikes in 150cc+ category which are a competition to Pulsar

are

Hero MotoCorp.

Honda.

TVS.

Conclusion

Clubbing the sections of analysis of Bajaj Auto Limited has given us many insights into the two-wheeler market as a whole and especially into the dynamics of Bajaj Pulsar. Through the environmental and SWOT analysis of Bajaj Pulsar, we analyzed the external and internal factors shaping the growth and sales of Pulsar and the various opportunities and threats it faces for its future. Various marketing strategies adopted by Bajaj for Pulsar over the years and their role in building the brand Pulsar were studied.Thus overall, this project was an experiential way to learn the concepts of marketing discussed in class and how they are applied in a real case scenario.

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References:

http://www.afaqs.com/news/story/25053_-Innovating-brands:-Bajaj-Pulsar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bajaj_Pulsar

http://marketingpractice.blogspot.in/2007/04/bajaj-pulsar-definitely-male.html

http://www.bajajauto.com/

http://forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/a-pulsar-for-under-a-lakh/