24/3/2019
PUNE: Apart
from one new electric scooter, there was not much of fanfare in the new launch
story category. The week was however dominated by some big corporate
developments. We have all such main stories listed below in addition to the
pick of the week centered on Bajaj Auto, the Pune-based maker of Pulsar, which
has set its sights on global dominance.
Ola
raises $300 million from Hyundai Motor Group
Cab hailing firm Ola said on March 19 that it has raised $300
million from South Korea's Hyundai
Motor Group in a strategic deal under which
the companies will also collaborate on building India-specific electric
vehicles and infrastructure.
The companies will be creating solutions to operate and manage
fleet vehicles and the partnership will also offer Ola drivers various financial
services, including lease and installment payments. The investment is part of
Ola's ongoing Series J round.
Govt sets
up panel to monitor, implement FAME-II
The government has constituted an inter-ministerial panel for
monitoring, sanctioning and implementation of projects under the Rs
10,000-crore FAME-II programme, aimed at incentivising clean mobility. The Project Implementation and Sanctioning Committee will be
chaired by the Secretary of Department of Heavy Industries and will have other
members including NITI Aayog CEO, Department for Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs Secretary and
secretaries in the power and new and renewable energy ministry, among others.
Bajaj-KTM
to deepen alliance after proposed share transfer
The proposed realignment of the partnership between Bajaj and
KTM is aimed at deepening the 12-year-old alliance by leveraging future
mobility opportunities across the world, said a senior Bajaj official. Bajaj has termed the next phase of the alliance as KTM-Bajaj
2.0. However, there were no strategic details shared by either company. Further
details are expected to be shared towards the second quarter of this year.
Toyota,
Suzuki to deepen partnership
Two years after signing an agreement, Japanese giants Toyota
and Suzuki have increased their sphere of partnership to now include joint
production, the popularization of electrified vehicles, the sharing of engines
and the inclusion of more commonly used car models. In addition to supplying the Brezza and Baleno to Toyota,
domestic car market leader Maruti Suzuki will also supply the Ciaz and Ertiga.
These will also be sold under the Toyota brand in India as well as in the
African markets, which would be served from India.
MG
Motor’s electric SUV to be priced below Rs 25 lakh
UK auto brand MG Motors’ first fully electric vehicle eZS,
which is set to debut in the October-December quarter, will be priced below Rs
25 lakh in India, making it the cheapest in the segment. India will be one of the first markets to get the all-electric
sports utility vehicle, which was showcased by MG Motors at the Guangzhou Motor
Show in November last year.
Bajaj
shines bright in a dull market
The year of FY19 must go to Rajiv Bajaj’s Bajaj Auto. The
Pune-based company which was getting flak from everybody, including its
chairman, for abandoning the scooter dream has become the outperformer in the
two-wheeler sector. Its domestic sales during the year soared 28 percent even as
the rest of the two-wheeler industry grew by just 7 percent.
The industry saw motorcycle sales grow by 10 percent for the
same period but minus Bajaj’s contribution the growth stands at a mere 6.6
percent, as per data supplied by the Society of Indian Automobile
Manufacturers.
The twin-pronged attack of Bajaj – cutting the price of its
most affordable bike CT100 and of base variant Pulsar, and launch of new
variants of Pulsar – helped the company buck the broader trend.
But its success wasn’t limited to two-wheelers. After years of
struggle to commercially launch the Qute, Bajaj Auto finally launched the
quadricycle at Rs 2.63 lakh. The four-wheeler (not to be referred as a car) was
mired in controversy following a series of PILs in the Supreme Court against
its launch.
The icing on the cake was the start of the execution of the
second phase of the decade-old partnership with Austrian off-road specialist
KTM. Both companies are ready to take their alliance to the next level under
the ‘KTM-Bajaj 2.0 Programme’.
After making public Bajaj’s intention of rearranging its
holding in KTM AG by transferring it to KTM Industries AG, the parent company
of the Vienna Stock Exchange-listed maker of RC and Duke range of bikes, Rajiv
Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto clarified that this is done to strengthen and broaden the
alliance further.
Rajiv and Stefan (CEO of KTM Industries) have a strong
professional relationship. They share a common goal of making Bajaj-KTM the
leader in the premium bike category in the world. KTM even moved the production
of its entry-level bikes (even that of Husqvarna) from Austria to India.
Though the partnership is going strong (KTM posted best-ever
revenues in 2017), the two CEOs have shown their intention to push it further
by a notch. Rajiv Bajaj said that the latest move is aimed at "developing
strategies and technologies for the future".
Bajaj has not said if it would get any shares in the promoter
company KTM Industries AG in lieu of shares (48 percent stake) in KTM AG it
intends to transfer to the promoter company. Over the last 12 years, Bajaj has
pumped in more than Rs 1200 crore into KTM, too big to be given away for free.
Market watchers see this as
a pivotal moment for Bajaj Auto which could be watching out for ‘something
bigger’. For some time now, Volkswagen has been looking to sell Ducati (known
as Ferrari on two wheels). The KTM Bajaj combine, along with Eicher Motors
(Royal Enfield’s parent) had shown interest. Bajaj’s equity move in KTM is
being watched in parallel with Volkswagen’s efforts around Ducati.
29/3/2019
