Bike Chronicles of India

Aug 10, 2007

11 New 125 C.C Bajaj "Exceed" with "DTS-Si" Engine launched

Bajaj Auto launches its Splendor Killer.. The 125 C.C "Exceed" with new "DTS-Si" technology

The new 125cc engine with DTS-Si technology will give a mileage of 109 kilometers per liter under ideal test conditions, says the Pune-based company

>> There is a buzz around that this is the particular bike with which Bajaj Auto will try to break the monopoly of Hero Honda on the 100 cc market

>> So far Bajaj has left no stone unturned and has tried every trick in the book to take away the crown from Hero Honda

>> One thing which might already be in favor of the “Exceed” is the current trend of decline in sales of the 100 cc bikes

That's what Bajaj has to say about its new 125 C.C motorcycle at the launch its "Engine". “Exceed”, that’s the name of the next 125 CC offering from Bajaj on which the new 125 cc engine will sit on. On 9'th August 2007, Bajaj Auto launched an all new 125 cc engine, which it has christened with the "DTS-Si" technology. The acronym stands for “Digital Twin Spark – Swirl Induction”. This in very simple terms means that along with having Two Spark Plugs for the single cylinder engine (similar to the Discover, the Pulsar and the Avenger engines), the new engine will incorporate a new feature called “Swirl Induction”.

Bajaj Chief, Rajiv Bajaj during the launch of the 125 C.C "DTS-Si" Engine

The new engine has been developed completely by the Bajaj R&D. By “Swirl Induction”, the combustion inside the cylinder is further improved by generating high turbulence for the fuel-air mixture. According to Bajaj this very technology would revolutionize the Indian Two wheeler industry with the most fuel efficient bike in India.

Here is what Amit Nandi, General Manager (Marketing) had to say,

"Bajaj will offer customers a value proposition much superior to the currently overpriced and underperforming 100cc products with the launch of an all new bike with the DTS-Si engine next month. 100cc customers will upgrade to this 125cc bike that gives superior mileage and superior power"

In order to outsell Hero Honda 100 cc bikes, the new 125 cc "Exceed" also will have to match the Reliability of Hero Honda 100 cc bikes

There is a buzz around that this is the particular bike with which Bajaj Auto will try to break the stranglehold which Hero Honda has on the Indian two wheeler market thanks to its 100 cc bikes.

80 percent of bike sales of Hero Honda come from its 100 cc bikes. Hero Honda enjoys around 47 percent of the Indian Two Wheeler market. So if Bajaj wants to regain its number one crown, it has to find a way to outsell the 100 bikes from Hero Honda. This is exactly what the new 125 cc platform from Bajaj has been designed to achieve.

So far Bajaj has left no stone unturned and has tried every trick in the book (or maybe some not found in any book) to take away the crown of the number one bike maker of India from Hero Honda. Just recall how Bajaj has tried to attack the Splendor and its 100 cc cousins with its own 100 cc models namely the Boxer, Caliber, CT100, Platina, Discover (not to mention the iterations among these various Bajaj models). In spite of all the aggressive moves by Bajaj, the 100 cc bikes from Hero Honda still manages to outsell the competition by quite a comfortable margin.

Only time will tell if Bajaj will be able to pull this off. But in order to become number one again the “Exceed” has to achieve three things for Bajaj

Deliver consistent mileage which should at least equal to what Hero Honda 100 cc bikes deliver

Cost no more than the Hero Honda Splendor

Match the reliability of Hero Honda 100 cc bikes

Bajaj has already made claims of 109 Km/l for the new “Exceed” under “Ideal Conditions”. In real life conditions this figure certainly won’t be possible to achieve. Bajaj had also claimed 77 Km/l under ideal conditions for the Pulsar 150 once. We all know that the Pulsar 150 delivers around 50 Km/l in real life conditions. Accordingly if we subtract 30 km/l for the real life mileage for the “Exceed”, then it should give around 75-79 Km/l..!!

Print Ad of the Pulsar claiming 77 KM/l (under ideal test conditions of course)

Even if the 125 cc Exceed is able to deliver around 75 Km/l in real life situations and is priced close to the Hero Honda Splendor, Bajaj would have just have to match the reliability of the 100 cc engine from Honda. One of the reasons why the Hero Honda 100 cc bikes have sold more than any other bike in India is because of the bullet proof reliability of the Honda engine along with the consistent high mileage.

The new 125 cc DTS-Si engine is rumoured to develop 9.5 bhp along with 10.85 Nm of torque. These figures are well above any India 100 cc motorcycle available right now.

One thing which might already be in favor of the “Exceed” is the current trend of decline in sales of the 100 cc bikes. Recently the 100 cc segment saw a decline by 16 percent while the 125 cc and higher capacity segment saw an increase in 21 percent in its sales. Although auto analysts have attributed the recent decline in 100 sales due to rising interest sales according to me it’s just s matter of time before Indians graduate towards 125 cc bikes.

Maybe a new 125 cc bike might kick start this new trend but for that to happen, that particular bike has to “EXCEED” the expectations of the normal customer looking for a 100 cc bike.

Enough of Speculation and Hype..!!
Over to you Bajaj..!!

News Source:

5 Reasons for You to Upgrade from 100 C.C to 125 C.C bikes

Honda India has 100/125 C.C plans. Can we please have the CBR 150R too..??

New 2007 Honda Shine (125 C.C) [Pics/Images/Tech specs]

Bajaj Discover DTSi 135 C.C on Bajaj's Website now

Global Auto rolls out its first Indo-China Bike from West Bengal

Suzuki India launches 3 Variants of its 125 C.C motorcycle range

New Yamaha Gladiator "Type J.A" 125 c.c with Alloys (Pics/Images)

Disclaimer:

This is to remind that the Views or Opinions in the blog are entirely mine unless explicitly stated. The Views and Opinions published in this blog should in no way be related to any other person or organization associated -- directly or indirectly -- with me.

6 John Abraham and Yamaha part ways

Yamaha and John Abraham has parted ways..

Continuing with Yamaha India..

According to EconomicTimes:

John Abraham and Yamaha have recently parted ways, though its remains unclear who dumped whom.

“John has told Yamaha that he wouldn’t renew the contract for the brand promotion as the company doesn’t have the right product to match the actor’s macho personality,” according to a source close to Mr Abraham.

Oouch..!! That should hurt..!!

Yamaha to launch above 125 cc bikes in Jan 2008. R1 & MT 01 to be launched soon.

What's ailing the Japanese in India..?? [Part I: Yamaha India]

Yamaha "V-ixion".. is this the 150 C.C from Yamaha for India..??

Yamaha plans to launch its 150 C.C by 2008

Yamaha India will bring in its Superbikes..!! Are you happy now..??

Yamaha India hangs on to Indian market despite losses

Yamaha India in bad shape

Disclaimer:

Aug 9, 2007

3 Yamaha to launch above 125 cc bikes in Jan 2008. R1 & MT 01 to be launched soon.

Aug 7, 2007

2 What's ailing the Japanese in India..?? [Part I: Yamaha India]

A look at what's wrong with the Japanese Companies in India.. Part I: Yamaha India

A picture is worth a thousand words..

The above graphic shows how Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki don't even together account for 10% of the Indian two wheeler market.

So what's wrong for these Japanese companies who once taught Bajaj and TVS the trade of making two wheelers. What's ailing these Japanese Two wheeler maker..??

Part I: What's ailing Yamaha India

The mere mention of the brand name "Yamaha" evokes a feeling among bike lovers which is diffcult to describe. The legend of its yesteryear superstars namely the RD350 and the RX100 still manages to overshadow the fact that Yamaha India has made straight losses since 2001.

There are many bikers around in the country who still venerate the Yamaha brand. It wouldn’t be surprising if many of them have never owned a Yamaha Before. Such is the equity of brand Yamaha in India.

Yamaha happens to be the World number two in terms of two wheeler sales after Honda. But in spite of having its presence in India since the mid eighties, Yamaha at present has a market share of just around 3 %.

Needless to say that so far Yamaha has performed below expectations in India.

Lets try to find what has gone wrong for Yamaha India..??

Product Lineup

Lets first look at the Yamaha Products in India.. We have the

100 C.C (economizers)

Crux
Libero G5
Alba (recently launched)

125 C.C

Gladiator (with its “Type J.A” variant)

And….??
Nothing else.. at least till now..!!

Ask any Tom Dick and Harry on any Indian street to associate the first word that comes across his mind with "Yamaha". I can safely bet my money that the answer will invariably be “Speed, Power, Performace”.

After the RX100 and the RD350, by no means can Yamaha make us believe that its 100 cc and 125 cc bikes are the best that it can do in India.

Administrative Problems.

In 2001, Yamaha India bought majority stake in Escorts, its erstwhile JV partner and started on its own as fully owned Japanese subsidiary. But it did not mean that Yamaha India got a fresh start in 2001. Yamaha India had to carry along the Escorts legacy in the form of its workers who previously used to work under Escorts. This is a problem that Yamaha India hasn’t been able to sort out even today.

If you don’t understand how that can be a problem, just try to teach computers to your grandpa and you will understand what I mean. Times had changed since Escorts-Yamaha used to churn out the RX100. Changing times means a different approach to work which requires a change in the mindset of the workers at Yamaha’s plant. And this is one aspect which the new Japanese Bosses at Yamaha India haven’t been able to address so far.

Inefficient and Archaic Dealerships:

Compared to the new and swanky showrooms of its competitors, majority of the dealers and showrooms of Yamaha India looks like it still belongs to the “Licence Raj” days. These dealerships have been in operational since Escorts-Yamaha days. With concepts like “Pro-Biking” showrooms of Bajaj which have been designed to provide a rich experience to the biker, Yamaha India still has a lot to pick up.

Marketing Disaster:

Similar to the how (according to me) the Honda Unicron, has been a marketing failure in India, virtually every product from Yamaha can be a case study for failed Marketing effort.

After marketing research the next steps of marketing can be summed up as

Segmentation
Targeting and
Positioning

First of all Marketing Dept. of Yamaha picked up the wrong Segment (100 cc segment) to play in, targeted the wrong customers (actually it beats me to decipher who is Yamaha’s 100 cc target customer) and doesn’t have a strong and clear Positing statement for its products.

Lets try to figure out “What is the positioning statement of Yamaha India’s motorcycles..” From the wheelie popping Gladiator 125 cc ads featuring , John Abraham and the latest ad of the 100 cc Alba here a Girl gets the tattoo of the 100 cc Yamaha Alba on her back, we can say that Yamaha India’s bike are positioned as fast and with sexy designs.

Sexy looks for a 100 cc commuter..?? Wheelies from a 125 cc executive commuter..?? Yeah, that's what we need. Probably you have the answer now.

What can we expect from the future..??

No matter how miserably Yamaha’s offerings’ have performed in India so far, Indians still have and probably will always have respect for any products from any Japanese Bike maker.

The day Yamaha India launches a proper performance bike, “desi” bike enthusiasts will sit up and take notice. There is no reason to believe that the World’s Second largest Two Wheeler maker can’t pull it off in India. According to me its just the matter of application and letting go of the past.

What is required is to think and start afresh. Let’s see for how long can Yamaha India keep us waiting.