Bajaj once owned the sports motorcycle market in India, now however it is just a mere shadow of its former shelf.
The Pulsar brand which was the epitome of sports motorcycle in the country has now been turned into a cash grab and in the process, it has become nothing. It is not goto sports motorcycle for Indian sports enthusiasts nor is the money-making machine that Bajaj wants it to be. I think the final nail in the coffin for the Pulsar brand was the introduction of Pulsar NS 125 a few years ago.
While most motorcycle brands move upwards to bigger and better motorcycles, Bajaj is diluting their brand to sell cheaper motorcycles. Instead of maybe making parallel-twin motorcycles like the Royal Enfield, Bajaj has shrunken their Pulsar lineup to 125cc.
The most annoyance however that I have with Bajaj is for their unending cycle of launching the same motorcycle with different colours.
Just a few days ago Bajaj has launched the Pulsar 160NS with black alloys. They had already launched the Pulsar NS 160 with black alloys but then they launched the white version of the Pulsar 160NS with white alloys.
Now finally they have launched the White 160NS with black alloys. They have also launched the White version of Pulsar 200NS with black alloys. It is stuff like these that is causing their sales to plummet.
Bajaj need better R&D
The Royal Enfield that they targetted with their Elephant ads has gone on to become one of the fastest-growing motorcycle brands in the world. While Bajaj is stuck here doing senseless stuff like this.
The Royal Enfield was once in a similar boat. Prior to the 2010s, Royal Enfield was stuck with an ageing 350cc and 500 engine. These engines were unreliable and produces way less power for their size. They however got together and first created the Continental GT.
The Continental GT was not a very good motorcycle as it had many issues with it. Royal Enfield however used the experience from this motorcycle to create the 650 twins. The Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 twins have totally changed the game for them now. These motorcycles are bestsellers in their class not just in India but also in countries like UK and USA.
Bajaj needs to do something of that sort as well. They need to create bigger engines and bigger motorcycles capable of being the flagbearers for the brand. Bajaj has partnered with Triumph to create a modern retro which is a good direction to head into, but since their heritage is of sports motorcycling, Bajaj need to work on a
This colour changing tactic will soon run out of steam and Bajaj will have nowhere else to go. It is high time they realise that the Indian motorcycling market has moved so far ahead from these cheap tactics.
