Bajaj Kawasaki Ninja 250, KTM bikes soon

The Pune-based Bajaj Auto Limited will now be adding two international brands, Kawasaki and KTM to its portfolio, to rejuvenate its market share in the two-wheeler segment.

Kawasaki Ninja 250R for India, from Bajaj - finally!

Bajaj plans to launch several new bikes by 2010. It has already launched  its executive-segment bike Bajaj XCD 135 DTS-Si bike at a price of Rs 45,000 (ex-showroom Delhi).

Update: Kawasaki Ninja 250R launched in India, price Rs 2.69 lakhs

Bajaj Auto, which saw a 50% and a 53% drop in sales in October 2008 and November 2008, respectively, also plans to launch the Kawasaki Ninja 250, a sports bike by April-May 2009.

The official Kawasaki NInja 250 R video

Bajaj Auto Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj said, during the launch of the Bajaj XCD 135 DTS-Si, that the Kawasaki Ninja 250 will be priced over 2 lakhs. He also reported that unlike KTM bikes, whose bigger bikes like RR and Duke will be assembled in India, the Kawasaki Ninja250 will be imported as a single unit.

The announcement about the Kawasaki Ninja 250 comes after almost 15 years of rumours about its ‘imminent’ launch. Bajaj never did much about dispelling the rumours either, showcasing the Ninja 250 at a lot of auto shows in the last decade.

The current Ninja 250 cc motorcycle is officially known as the Ninja 250R. It is the smallest of the Kawasaki Ninja range of motorcycles, and the company’s best-selling model. Powered by a 26 bhp twin-cylinder liquid-colled unit, the Ninja 250R can touch a top speed of 177 kmph. In India, it would be the fastest thing on two wheels.

Bajaj has undergone a steep drop in the market  in the past 2-3 months. It will now increase its stakes in KTM from about 26% to 30%. For this, Bajaj Auto, will pay KTM around Rs.60-80 crores via its Amsterdam based company Bajaj Auto International Holdings BV.

KTM and Bajaj Auto will now roll out high-efficiency machinery for the Indian market soon. The Bajaj Auto and KTM combine are also working on the sourcing of production and assembling of KTM bikes in India at Chakan near Pune.

To steady their sales graph, Bajaj Auto will bank on their new products, and plans to launch around six two wheelers by the end of 2009.

“We don’t want to be on top in sales. We want to be a niche player and have laid an ambitious plan to launch new products to tap new segments for Bajaj products and gradually increase our sales tally. We will be launching few more products based on the DTS-Si platform for the mass market to achieve monthly sales target of 70,000 units, while the international brands will meet high-end market needs,” Bajaj Auto CEO S Sridhar said.

Bajaj has said that their ultra-low-cost car, which it is developing in collaboration with Renault will be launched along Bajaj’s Lite cargo, in 2011.

“Work on the engine and the gearbox for the car is underway but other work related to the vehicle is yet to be completed,” he added.