Bajaj launches new bike

PUNE: An affordable cruiser bike, withsome features of its popular Pulsar model, Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL) quietly rolledout the Rs 60,000 (ex showroom, Delhi), Avenger, on June 10.Theproduction roll out at BAL's Chakan plant, coincided with chairman, RahulBajaj's birthday. Last year, BAL had similarly rolled out the redesigned Pulsaron June 10."This was a production roll out and we will now send thisto dealers. This month, we will produce 1,000 of the Avenger with plans oftaking it to 3,000 per month by September," S Sridhar, vice president, sales andmarketing, BAL, said. Advertising and product publicity will begin in a month'stime.While Mr Sridhar emphasised that this was a category creatingbike, neither a stripped down Eliminator nor an enhanced Pulsar 180 cc, the bikedoes combine features of both. The dominant being that this is a cruiser bike,priced at just Rs 2,000 more than the higher end Pulsar. An 180 cc, DTS-iengine, with a throatier growl, the Avenger is expected to give its riders a"genuine cruiser" feel."The Eliminator was an aspirational bike. AtRs. 80,000, it was selling just 50 units per month. The 180 cc Avenger comeswith BAL's patented DTS-i technology, incorporating ExhausTEC, another BALinnovation, for low end torque. It is an aspirational, affordable cruiser which,we believe, will create a category, as the Pulsar did four years ago. We havealso incorporated user feedback on the Eliminator into the design of theAvenger," Mr Sridhar said.The Eliminator, with its high importcontent, could not have broken the price barrier. Now, both, Pulsar 180 cc andthe Avenger 180 cc are positioned as premium bikes, in differentsub-segments.Referring to the Pulsar twins, Sridhar said four yearsago, there was no premium category. Then came the Pulsar, in two variants, andcreated a market, which today comprises 50,000 per month. The Pulsar bikesaccount for 30,000 of these."In two years, we believe the Avengercould reach sales of 10,000 per month," Sridhar said. Based as the Avenger is onthe Kawasaki designed Eliminator, the latter had to evaluate and clear it beforethe production roll out.