From web - this must be in relation to OEC in my viewNEW DELHI:...

From web - this must be in relation to OEC in my view

NEW DELHI: Bajaj Auto, which has declared war in the mass bike segment by slashing prices of its 100 cc flagship Platina, appears to have also trained its guns at niche segments within the two-wheeler space.

In a bid to tap the fledgling market for vehicles powered by alternate fuels (not fossil fuels), the company is coming up with two separate duel-fuel two-wheelers: a geared scooter powered by an LPG cylinder along with a petrol tank and another two-wheeler that will have a CNG kit along with the petrol tank.

Whichever option Bajaj Auto decides to launch first, it could end up creating an entirely new segment for two-wheeler consumers, since there is no alternate fuel option at present.

Except electric bikes, which have recently flooded the market, all other two-wheelers are powered by fossil fuels.

Asked about his plans in the alternate fuel space, managing director Rajiv Bajaj said: “We are on track to launch a CNG two-wheeler shortly”. He declined to divulge further details.

Senior company officials, however, indicated that a scooter running on LPG would be launched first. They said while strapping a scooter with an LPG cylinder (under the seat) would increase it weight by about five per cent, performance is not expected to suffer.

R20;LPG is a commercially viable option compared to CNG at present because CNG is not available in most cities across the country. We feel we have a good LPG vehicle option; all research for this vehicle has been done in-house”.

But automobile experts point out that the safety of such vehicles and the availability of even the LPG used in automobiles could become problem areas.

Bajaj is already test marketing two-stroke direct injection three-wheelers in some markets, which, it says, would offer the same fuel economy as a three-wheelers running on LPG. It remains to be seen whether alternate fuel scooters and bikes become viable in the long run.

Meanwhile, the company has also said it would partner Japanese major Kawasaki for introducing bigger, more than 250 cc bikes. Dismissing reports of a similar collaboration with Yamaha, Rajiv Bajaj said the bikes would be jointly developed with Kawasaki, but sold under the Bajaj badge.

Bajaj has made it clear that under him, the company would gradually move away from the 100 cc bikes altogether, towards larger bikes. Already, a new platform is being developed to make the strategic shift and at least one new bike is being launched from this platform by July.