Report on Marketing Strategy of Bajaj Pulsar 150cc

Submitted By: Harsh Sachdeva (Roll No. 31) Ankit Suneja (Roll No. 7) Rakesh Roshan (Roll No. 46)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYWe identified Bajaj Auto as the marketing company of our choice for the following project. Bajaj Auto group was founded in the year 1945 and has been among the front-runners in the motorcycle industry ever since. This very fact talks volumes about the company since only the best of the firms survive such a long time at the top. During the 60s, 70s and 80s there was a 10-year waiting period for its products. The company only had to produce its quota. Marketing or sales was not too much of an issue for them. Also the companys owner was infamous for being part of the anti-liberalization lobby called Bombay Club. However the firm faced a major crisis in the 90s and the early years of the new century due to increased competition from both foreign and domestic markets. However Bajaj came out only stronger with the competition and hardly depended on foreign help on this account. And the product, which did this turnaround possible, was Pulsar. Pulsar is exemplifies the fighting spirit of Bajaj. It is a classic example of an Indian company of the pre-liberalization era, adapting itself to the changing scenario and coming out on tops. Another interesting fact is how liberalization and embracing the change can work wonders for a firm, which was one of the most skeptical of liberalization policies of the Indian government.

The following project is a detailed marketing analysis of the product Bajaj Pulsar and its variants in the two-wheeler market. The project first of all focuses on the marketing history of Bajaj Pulsar and its SWOT analysis. Various internal and 2

external factors were taken into consideration while analyzing. Then we go on to analyze the consumer behavior for Pulsar regarding purchase, decision making and buying roles. The third section focuses on the competitor analysis of Bajaj Pulsar, their various strategies, activities and status to understand Pulsars competitive scenario. Help has been taken for analysis from some consumer surveys from prominent sites and a small survey done by us.

The project gives insights into various other topics. It talks about the shift in the trend towards motorcycles in the 90s. It also talks about the process of liberalization and how it affected Bajaj as a company. The change in the marketing strategies of Bajaj according to the times, how Pulsar succeeded in achieving a turnaround for Bajaj are also discussed. The competitor analysis of Pulsar gives an understanding of the two-wheeler market as a whole, how it is full of choices for customers and how many more companies are vying to enter it.

Thanks, Ankit Suneja Harsh Sachdeva Rakesh Roshan

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Table of ContentsEXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................2 Table of Contents.............................................................................................4 SECTION I................................................................................................ 6 HISTORY AND SWOT ANALYSIS OF BAJAJ PULSAR......................................6 INTRODUCTION..........................................................................................6 WHY BAJAJ PULSAR?...................................................................................7 SHIFTING TRENDS TOWARDS MOTORCYCLES............................................8 MARKETING HISTORY.................................................................................9 SWOT MATRIX OF BAJAJ PULSAR..............................................................11 SECTION II.............................................................................................14 ANALYSING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN TERMS OF BUYING ROLES, DECISION MAKING PROCESS AND KIND OF PURCHASE BEHAVIOR...........14 BUYING ROLES.........................................................................................15 150cc....................................................................................................... 16 180CC......................................................................................................18 200cc and 220cc......................................................................................19 CONSUMER CENTRIC STEPS BY BAJAJ.......................................................21 SECTION III............................................................................................24 COMPETITOR ANALYSIS, THEIR ACTIVITIES, STATUS AND STRATEGIES....24 HERO HONDA & HONDA MOTORS............................................................25 TVS MOTORS............................................................................................27 TVS motorcycles product segment includes:...........................................27 YAMAHA MOTORS....................................................................................29 FOREIGN COMPETITORS...........................................................................31 SECTION IV............................................................................................34 Survey Analysis and Recommendations..................................................34 CONCLUSION............................................................................................37 REFERENCES............................................................................................39 2009 - 2010....................................................................................................47

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2007 - 2008....................................................................................................47 2006 - 2007....................................................................................................48 2004 - 2005....................................................................................................48 2003 - 2004....................................................................................................48 2002 - 2003....................................................................................................48 This bike comes in two different variants:...................................................51 Contents......................................................................................................58 [edit]Specifications.....................................................................................58 [edit]Evolution.............................................................................................59 [edit]2001................................................................................................59 [edit]2003................................................................................................60 [edit]2005................................................................................................60 [edit]2006................................................................................................61 [edit]2007................................................................................................61 [edit]2008................................................................................................61 [edit]2009................................................................................................63 [edit]2010................................................................................................64 [edit]Technology.........................................................................................64 [edit]DTSi.................................................................................................64 [edit]ExhausTEC.......................................................................................65 [edit]Awards................................................................................................65 [edit]2008................................................................................................65 [edit]2007................................................................................................65 [edit]2003................................................................................................65 [edit]2002................................................................................................66

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SECTION I HISTORY AND SWOT ANALYSIS OF BAJAJ PULSAR INTRODUCTION

B

ajaj Auto is a major automobile manufacturer based in Pune, India. It is one of the major producers of two wheelers and three wheelers and ranks 4th in the world in terms of two wheeler production. It is also

planning a foray into the 4-wheeler market. The firm in its initial years was into manufacturing scooters and auto rickshaws. It also enjoyed the lions share of the Indian two wheeler markets for a long duration of time. In the late Eighties and early nineties the market made a major shift in the type of vehicles on offer. New competitors like Yamaha and Hero-Honda came out with motorcycles, which were more powerful, better, looking and easier to handle. As such the consumers got attracted to motorcycles than scooters. Bajaj was slow to respond to the changing dynamics of the market and its market share started declining quickly. Bajaj entered into a partnership with the Japanese bike manufacturer Kawasaki to produce motorcycles for the Indian market. Still, it failed to garner any major share of the market. In the year 2001, Rajiv Bajaj, the scion of the Bajaj family came up with the idea of developing a powerful, stylish, rugged motorcycle, which would be priced lower than the existing products. And thus Pulsar was born. It came out in two variants 150cc and 180cc.

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WHY BAJAJ PULSAR?Bajaj Auto started in the year 1945. It started selling imported 2 & 3 wheeler vehicles in 1959. They subsequently obtained a license to produce 2 & 3 wheelers. During the 60s, 70s and 80s there was a 10-year waiting period for its products. The company only had to produce its quota. Marketing or sales was not too much of an issue for them. Also the companys owner was infamous for being part of the anti-liberalization lobby called Bombay Club. In the 80s and the 90s many foreign players like Honda, Yamaha etc. came into play in Indian markets and played a significant role in easing out some of the Indian brands. Bajaj is probably the only Indian brand to emerge stronger out of the competition by developing products on its own. Pulsar it exemplifies the fighting spirit of Bajaj. It is a classic example of an Indian company of the pre-liberalization era, adapting itself to the changing scenario and coming out on tops. Bajaj changed its product strategy when it started concentrating on the bike market. Pulsar was the first indigenously developed motorcycle by Bajaj for the Indian bike market and was the reason for the turnaround of Bajaj fortunes. Many Indian companies, in order to acquire the technical know how entered into joint collaborations with foreign companies e.g. Hero motors with Honda, LML with Vespa, Bajaj with Kawasaki etc. Though Bajaj depended on Kawasaki for its initial forays into the Bike market, now it has disassociated itself from Kawasaki and has emerged as a truly Global Indian brand. Another interesting fact is how liberalization can work wonders for a firm, which was one of the most skeptical of liberalization policies of the Indian government. So Pulsar as a whole has been a brand, which has brought major changes not only in the Indian Motorcycle Industry but also in the Bajaj business empire.

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SHIFTING TRENDS TOWARDS MOTORCYCLESFirst let us analyze the change in the preference of the Indian customers in the two-wheeler industry. In the 90s with growth in the average income of the Indian middle class the primary consumers of the two-wheeler market and the increasing number of choices in the motorcycle segment, there came a gradual increase in the sales of motorcycles. There were many other factors for this Advanced technologies in the bikes Larger wheel base there fore easy to navigate rough Indian roads Higher mileage, less maintenance cost, tougher.

The following table shows the increasing share of motorcycles in the Indian market in the 90s.Scooter No. 709.73 840.17 1,033.52 1,223.43 1,301.05 1,262.70 1,325.87 901.88 Motorcycle No. % 379.06 25.2 472.58 26.7 652.01 29.5 809.53 30.4 978.68 33.0 1,131.31 37.2 1,395.66 41.0 2,156.03 58.0 Moped No. 414.57 457.47 523.70 627.08 683.76 648.84 681.90 687.64

Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Total In '000 1,503.36 1,770.22 2,209.23 2,660.04 2,963.49 3,042.85 3,403.43 3,745.55

Overall Growth -6.40 17.75 24.80 20.41 11.41 2.68 11.85 -0.80

% 47.2 47.5 46.8 46.0 43.9 41.5 39.0 24.0

% 27.6 25.8 23.7 23.6 23.1 21.3 20.0 18.0

Source: (SIAM). No. Number of Units (in '000)

This factor also played an important role in the success of Indian bikes like Hero Honda Splendor, Bajaj Pulsar.

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MARKETING HISTORYBajaj entrusted the responsibility of communicating the brand value of Pulsar through media campaigns to O&M who came out with the brilliant ad of DEFINITELY MALE. Pulsar was initially targeted to 18-24 age group. The youth wanted powerful, stylish bikes, which would suit their pockets and give them good mileage. The higher powered bikes in the market e.g. RE, CBZ were too pricey, high on maintenance or low on mileage. What O&M needed to do was to attract attention of the youth, more so since the target market for the product was very niche. And the punch line DEFINITELY MALE did fire the youths imagination. It was very novel of O&M to come up with the idea of associating a motorbike with Gender. Pulsar got positioned as the HeBike of India. The product was unquestionably a success and Bajaj started increasing the breadth of its target market. Bajaj also refused to rest on its laurels. It constantly kept working on upgrading the product and came up with DTSI (Digital Twin Spark Ignition) version of the Bike in the year 2005. The new technology helped the bike to give better mileage. Also the styling was changed stylized headlights, tail lights etc. This time around, Leo Burnett managed the ad campaign. They came out with the new punch line DIGITAL-BIKING keeping in consideration the new technology DTSI. The mega-successful DEFINITELY MALE slogan was given away with. This, though it communicated the introduction of the new technology to the consumers, missed the trick in positioning it as the classic HE-BIKE. We have examples from Bike Manufacturers who have developed a unique theme for their Bikes and kept their positioning constant over a long duration of time earning unparalleled Brand loyalty and exclusivity such as Harley Davidson & Royal Enfield.

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However Pulsar had been so well established as a Product and its pricing and distribution were so strong that even indifferent promotional campaigns could hardly make too much of a difference to sales figures. In continuation of Bajajs strategy to come up with better products, the upgraded version of pulsar was launched in 2007 with digital console display and LED taillights, which were a novelty in the Indian market. Subsequently Bajaj came up with newer variants of Pulsar 200cc & 220 cc. The 200cc bike had a lot of innovations like oil cooled engine, twin rails etc. The bike was launched with a FREE BIKING campaign shot in Cuba by O&M. Two Bikers riding Pulsar 200cc bikes were shown zip-zapping their way through buildings and crowded streets of Havana. Bajaj tried to communicate that it does not matter where you are biking but how you are biking, when you are atop a Pulsar 200cc. Though the message might have been a bit complex for the typical Indian motorcycle owner, the freshness of the ad really popularized the bikes. The latest in the series of Pulsar ads is the PULSARMANIA one, where 4 bikers perform varied stunts atop Pulsar bikes. They have been very popular and aim to extend the macho image of Pulsar bikes further.

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SWOT MATRIX OF BAJAJ PULSARSWOT as of 2001 year of launch STRENGTHS: Very popular brand positioning (DEFINITELY MALE) which helped quite a lot in popularizing the brand The styling of the bike was a novelty and was in line with its macho image. Performance wise, it was much better than other bikes in the same segment. It had an impressive mileage for a 150 cc bike, about 45 plus, which was much more than other bikes of the segment like CBZ etc. Since Bajaj was already in the scooter market beforehand, it could use those same resources for the distribution, sales and service for Bajaj pulsar bikes. Bajaj made after sales a priority in marketing.

WEAKNESS: One of the major weaknesses of Bajaj pulsar was that it was an untested product. Before this Bajaj had never come out with a product in this segment and so there was a lot of customer apprehension about the product initially. OPPORTUNITIES: The 150cc market was an underdeveloped market at that time and so there was tremendous scope of growth. There was a major opportunity of export for Bajaj pulsar, since that was the time when the export markets were quite open and there was a large demand for Indian products in the foreign markets.

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THREATS: The major threat for Bajaj Pulsar in the product category was CBZ, a product from the Hero-Honda stable, which was an already established brand in itself. Bajaj as a brand had an image of producing rustic, Indian, old scooters. This brand image could work against it when it was venturing into selling bikes which were more internationally styled. Yamaha and Honda were also planning to come up with similar products very soon.

SWOT as of the year 2008 STRENGTHS: From 150cc it has diversified into varied categories like 180cc, 200cc, 220cc, air-cooled and water-cooled. Thus it has a wide range to fit every pocket. It is a tried and tested product. Even bad ads dont make a difference in its sales. Its sales are more or less word of mouth driven. Bajaj has constantly worked on the mileage taking it as an important part and has improved it in the latest bikes. There is a constant up gradation of the model going on every time. New features like Digital speedometer, LED tail lights etc were introduced by Bajaj pulsar first of all in the Indian market. WEAKNESS: There are still some technical problems in the model, which are not solved like the Gear Box etc. There is not much of a product differentiation among the various models of bajaj pulsar as they have similar styling.

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OPPORTUNITIES: To enter the higher end bike market , which is a high margin business. It is a very underdeveloped market in India; surely there would be a demand for Bajaj Pulsar products there. Though Bajaj is the largest bike exporter in India, it has to still enter many untested markets. Bajaj has an auto-financing arm of its own, which it can use to leverage its bike sales. E.g. by providing easy installments and other schemes. THREATS: Cheap Chinese imports and other copycats in foreign markets trying to make a dent on its market. There is much more competition in the market for every segment that Pulsar is in, than it was in 2001. Other Bike manufacturers have also come up with very good products. The bike business is increasingly becoming a low-margin business. The advent of Low-priced cars like NANO also would also have a significant effect on the sales of pulsar bikes.

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SECTION II ANALYSING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN TERMS OF BUYING ROLES, DECISION MAKING PROCESS AND KIND OF PURCHASE BEHAVIOR

B

AJAJ PULSAR has been one of the leading brands of motorcycles from the BAJAJ stable for the last 7 years or so. Right from its inception in the year 2001, the bike has been the market leader in its segment

despite stiff competition from many others including one of the biggies who had the first mover advantage. It has strived to be ahead of its competitors, through a mix of product and marketing innovation, solid performance bikes and good marketing strategies. Throughout this it has maintained a loyal base of supporters, which have clung to it for years. Marketing management of PULSAR has been highly successful as it has been able to acquire, retain and grow its customer base every year. In this section we are going to analyze the behavior of consumers of BAJAJ PULSAR in terms of their buying roles, decision-making process and kind of purchase behavior.

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BUYING ROLESIn the 70s and 80s Frederick E. Webster, Yoram Wind and Thomas Bonoma developed the six buying role model of the consumer. According to them a buying centre has members who play the following role in purchase process. 1. INITIATOR: Identifies the need. 2. INFLUENCER: influences the views of buyers 3. DECIDER: the one who ultimately decides about buying 4. BUYER: holds the formal authority to select 5. USER: consumer of the product 6. GATEKEEPER: controls information or access to decision makers.

Though the model involved industrial buyers, we can take it as a rough foundation for analyzing the buying roles of consumers.

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Lets do the analysis on the basis of the models or variants in which PULSAR is available.

150ccThe target customer base of the PULSAR has always been the age group of 2035. The 150cc model costs about 60,000 INR and is the cheapest of all PULSAR models. So its target base is also the college going kids and young office going people mostly. In the case of the college public, the INITIATOR & USER becomes the college going kid. But the final BUYER & DECIDER in most of the cases are the parents of the college going kids. Since Pulsar is a brand which gets very good publicity by word of mouth, the INFLUENCER in this case is the kids friends, social circle, magazines, girlfriends etc. In the case of the office going people, the person using it only plays most of the roles. Only the co-workers, friend circles to a large extent and family to a small extent plays the role of INFLUENCER. Let us now look at the factors which generally influence the decision making process of consumers in buying 150cc pulsar. For the college going student, the major factors, which influence him in buying a PULSAR, are The looks and styling very international and contemporary according to many. It brings about a macho image people feel it heightens their esteems among the group especially girls. Peer influence

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Power & acceleration higher than the entry segment bikes.

For the parents, who are the final buyers, the factors, which have been observed to be influencing, are BAJAJ Its Brand name, the feeling of stability and reliability associated with it. Extensive service center network and dealership locations across the country, so less maintenance worries. Could be used as a family bike also. There have also been instances when the parents might have owned a Bajaj scooter earlier and is loyal to brand Bajaj in his own right.

For the office going people the major factors which help in decision making, have been observed to be Sense of style and power along with highest mileage in the segment. Low maintenance. High resale value etc.

One of the recent factors influencing the buying has been observed to be The initiation of BAJAJ into auto-finance through its company BAJAJ AUTO FINANCE LTD. (BAFL). It has been coming up with some very innovative offers like very little down payment and 0% interest loans. There has been observed, an increase or spurt in the sales figures in general during College starting months June- August. Launch of a new improved version e.g. when the DTSI model was launched.

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As concerned, buying intervals, most of the bikes are used for an average of 3-4 years and many purchases are repeat purchases. The sale of the 150cc bikes has been observed to be the most among all brand offerings (e.g. 180 cc, 200 cc) of PULSAR not only due to its pricing but also due to the mileage factor. Entry of good competitor products e.g. UNICORN, HUNK etc. has had temporarily reduced the sales of PULSAR 150CC in the past but none has been able to give a long hard competition to PULSAR. A greater portion of the buying payments has been met through EMI Loans, so the rise of interest rates has affected the sales a bit. Also Bajaj might need to come up with new strategies to counter the dual challenge posed by rising inflation and interest rates to sustain sales of Pulsar 150 cc.

180CCIt is a higher end bike in terms of features and powers. Accordingly the cost also increases to about 65000 INR. The fuel costs also increase proportionately. So the target customers of BAJAJ for this level of motorcycles are the people a little higher in the income level E.g. Managers, executives, rich college kids etc. Thus the DECIDER, BUYER, USER, INITIATOR roles are played by the end user himself. The people who prefer the 180cc over the 150cc are mostly those with a passion for biking, power lovers, bike enthusiasts etc. BAJAJ also targets this section of customer through its ads focusing on the joy of riding like PULSARMANIA, Free Biking etc. Let us look at the factors influencing the decision making of this group of customers. They are

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This segment is relatively new with very less competitors. So prospective buyers more or less gravitate to the available choices PULSAR being the prominent among them.

Influence from the peer group and friends. Brand equity of PULSAR and word of mouth publicity. People buying in these segments also tend to get influenced by online reviews available on the Internet.

Also since people buying in this category plan their purchase over a longer period of time and are relatively better off financially, this section of bikes has observed lesser proportion of EMI based purchases.

200cc and 220ccThese bikes have been recent introductions to the Pulsar Brand. Their popularity is also steadily increasing at par with their other counterparts. They are oil-cooled models, which give better performance especially when the bike is run over longer periods of time. They are sold at a heavier price range of 72 to85 thousand. They are intended mainly for biking enthusiasts and act as an alternative for those who cannot afford high power costly imported bikes. In terms of buying roles, the peer group of the biker etc. may play the role of INFLUENCER. Other than that the end user himself plays most of the roles. Various sources of secondary data establish these facts as mentioned. Also our survey points to similar facts. Out of 53 participants a majority of 38 respondents either owned a pulsar or indicated that they prefer owning one in future. 13 of them had consulted reviews on websites before going for Pulsar. Also an amazing 16 out of the 19

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pulsar owners were very satisfied with the product and said they would/do recommend the product to their friends. E.g. in a survey conducted in www.mouthshut.com, 419 existing BAJAJ PULSAR 150cc users were asked to rate PULSAR on various features on a scale of 5. The results are as follows.

Additionally 83% respondents recommended the buying of a PULSAR. In another survey conducted by www.pulsarclub.com, the respondents were asked questions regarding their buying behavior. Their responses were as follows. Why did you buy a Bajaj Pulsar? Its masculine looks... Performance... Mileage.. Resale Value... by Envy... 39.71% (110) 48.38% (134) 5.42% (15) 1.08% (3) 5.42% (15) Total Votes: 277

Who was influential in choosing Bajaj Pulsar?

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Your Wife Your Kids Your Girlfriend(s) You Yourself Dealer pushed you very few choices

4.83% (10) 1.45% (3) 23.19% (48) 66.67% (138) 3.86% (8)

Total Votes: 207

CONSUMER CENTRIC STEPS BY BAJAJNow, let us look at some of the measures taken by Bajaj to influence consumer behavior in the increasingly competitive market. 1. DEALERSHIP AND SERVICE NETWORK: Bajaj Auto has an extensive network of about 485 dealers and 1500 service centers around the country. Lately it has been concentrating on the rural front which has largely been an untapped, growing market in terms of performance segment bikes. Bajaj has identified a segment of customers 'Probikers', who are knowledgeable, appreciative of contemporary technology, they are trendsetters and very choosy about what they ride. Hence, Probikers need to be addressed in a meaningful way that goes beyond the product. Bajaj Auto is in the process of expanding its chain of retail stores across the country exclusively for high-end, performance bikes. These stores are called "Bajaj Probiking". Many such stores have been opened throughout major cities in India.

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A BAJAJ PROBIKING SHOWROOM The Probiking stores have features like attractive spare parts display, a trial room which is fully air-conditioned etc. The bikes are displayed in standing position which is in itself a very novel way of attracting attention of the youngsters. Bajaj Auto has come up with new initiative called e-biking to facilitate online booking of bikes. Its the first and only kind of online bike booking in India and expected to woo the prospective customers. After bike has been booked, bike would be delivered at the doorstep of the customer with attractive financing schemes made available to the customer. Bajaj Auto is expecting that it would gain significant customer base from people in cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai, which are IT hubs of India and where people are internet savvy.

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2. CUSTOMER RETENTION Lifecycle of bike is relatively large (compared to other products like grocery items, clothes, etc.) and it is not that sort of product that people will buy twice a year or even once every year. So customer retention is not limited to the act of customers coming back to buy the same product again and again. Here, it takes a broad meaning and encompasses customer satisfaction with its usage; service by the vendors and service centres; and as a result customers who have already bought the product recommending the same to other prospective customers, users forming clubs to support the brand and also helping in testing etc of any new launches. We must say Bajaj has done extremely well in this area also. Sales of Pulsar as well as its popularity have been leading those of other bikes. Also in cities like Pune there are bikers clubs, which owe serious allegiance to the brand Bajaj. People who had bought it and were happy with it started a Website www.pulsarclub.com. This all is testimony to the successful customer retention for Pulsar by the Bajaj Auto. Another initiative taken by Bajaj Auto is Bajaj Confidence Extended Warranty Plans, which extends basic 2-year/30000km warranty coming with the purchase of new Bajaj Bike at a very nominal price. This extended warranty gets activated as soon as the basic warranty expires. This initiative has been taken to provide better service to the existing customers and hence focuses on customer retention and better customer relationship management. It needs to be seen how this new initiative does in achieving goals of customer retention. Marketing management is often described as the art and science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value. While DEALERSHIP AND SERVICE NETWORK is focusing on getting and growing customers, CUSTOMER RETENTION focuses on keeping customers through superior customer value.

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SECTION III COMPETITOR ANALYSIS, THEIR ACTIVITIES, STATUS AND STRATEGIES

B

ajaj Pulsar has been in the market for about 7 years now. It has revolutionized the Indian bike market with its innovative offerings both in terms of product quality as well as style. Consumers now have the

choice of bikes which are high both on quality i.e. mileage and performance as well as style. Pulsar commands about 60% of the market share in the 150cc plus category. This figure was higher initially, but with increased competition from other bike manufacturers in the same category; its market share has decreased.

Hereon we will try to identify and analyze the status, strategies and activities of major competitors of Pulsar to understand its competitive scenario. Some of the major competitors of Bajaj with bikes in the 150cc + category which are a competition to Pulsar are Hero Honda TVS Yamaha Foreign Competitors

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HERO HONDA & HONDA MOTORSHero Honda is the largest Bike manufacturer in the world. In India also, it leads in the overall bike market, but in the 150cc plus category its models are lagging Bajaj Pulsar in the overall market share. Bajaj Pulsars main competitors from the Hero Honda stable are CBZ, Achiever, Hunk and Karizma. CBZ was an established and famous brand when Pulsar made its entry into the market. Though CBZ had a better engine; Pulsar forged ahead with its styling, performance and innovative features. Demand for CBZ began to gradually decrease as it was mainly positioned as a sports bike whereas Pulsar was not enclosed in any such bracket. Hero Honda came out with CBZ EXTREME the new version of CBZ in 2006. It was positioned as a bike for Extreme adventure lovers with advertisements on the similar lines. Though this bike helped in improving sales, but it was not as well received as the original one, with complaints about its looks.

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HERO-HONDA KARIZMA AND CBZ XTREME KARIZMA has been a major competitor for Pulsar in the 180cc, 200cc category. It is a sports bike with a niche market. Hero Honda has adopted a different marketing strategy to promote it. Since it is a bike primarily targeted for the youth, they used mediums, which were frequented by youth. They have Hrithik Roshan as their brand ambassador. Hero Honda constantly sponsors adventure rallies through Karizma brand name. The popular TV show MTV Roadies sponsored by Karizma has elevated its status as a brand and increased its popularity. A separate site for the Bike with forums for consumers to discuss the bike has been an innovative marketing strategy. Hero Honda has recently come up with another bike Hero Honda Hunk in the 150cc category. It is being positioned as a bike with macho looks and for the hunks. Honda through its separate venture has come up with many bikes. It has Unicorn in its stable, which is a significant competitor of Pulsar. It has found many supporters due to its better handling and gearshifts than Pulsar. Honda has always positioned it as its main bike. Other Bikes from the Hero Honda stable have not been able to create a sufficient impact on the market. The major advantage with Hero Honda is its wide service and dealership network of about 3000 outlets throughout the country, which is larger than all its competitors. Hero Honda also has a CRM initiative called Passport which is a major success having a membership of about 3 million customers. Through it the customers get a series of discounts and benefits for a period of 3 years. Hero Honda lately has been on a massive drive of penetrating the rural market through its Har Gaon Har Aangan initiative. Thus Bajaj has to take note of this fact and try to expand more into the rural market to counter the competition from Hero Honda.

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TVS MOTORSThe Indian automotive industry is increasingly getting competitive and the twowheeler segment within it is also facing its own share of challenges. As part of the industry, TVS Motors, the countrys third largest manufacturer of twowheelers, is also giving a stiff competition to Bajaj products. TVS Group of companies engaged in the manufacturing of almost all kinds of automotive components, two wheelers and a few other industrial products. They are also into the financial services sector. The turnover of the entire group was close to $2 billion in 2003. The company has launched its latest bike Flame and has got some big plans up its sleeves. The year 2007-08 was a milestone for TVS Motor as it is likely to achieve sales one million motorcycles. Last year, the company sold a little over 800,000 motorcycles. There was a Digital Twin Spark Plug Ignition [DTS-i] technology debate between the two-wheeler manufacturing giants Bajaj Auto and TVS Motors. The patent war reached the Supreme Court with Bajaj seeking a restrain on the manufacturing and selling of TVS two-wheeler Flame. Bajaj has sought a revocation of the Madras High Court order allowing TVS to go ahead with receiving bookings for and selling its new motorcycle. TVS motorcycles product segment includes:

TVS MAX 100 TVS Suzuki Samurai TVS Fiero TVS Star TVS Star City TVS Star Sport TVS Centra TVS Apache TVS Flame 27

Strategies to stay competitive: 1. Constant Quality Improvement :

Significant efforts have gone silently into quality improvement. Today, Star has the best warranty record in the Indian two-wheeler industry. It took at least two products worth of efforts to get TVS quality up to that standard, where it is equal or better than the best. The new offerings are targeted at different segments of the two- and three-wheeler customers with emphasis on superior technology, styling and engine capabilities

2.

Thrust on Research and development:

TVS Motor Company has decided to double its R&D (research and development) spending this year. Over 300 personnel are deployed for product development. The company will strive to set out a new benchmark in this area. There was a discontinuity and break in cadence of its products. After Victor it came with Scooty Pep which has done well; Apache which has got a good record in the market; and then Star. Now, it has got Flame, which will be a worthy rival to Pulsar.

3.

Product for every pocket :

TVS Motors has just launched seven products in a first-of-its-kind rollout in the Indian automobile industry. The seven products include a completely new 125 cc motorcycle FLAME, an all new 110 cc Star City, an Apache variant with fuel injection technology and the electric variant of a Scooty. The new offerings are targeted at different segments of the two- and three-wheeler customers with emphasis on superior technology, styling and engine capabilities.

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YAMAHA MOTORSYamaha was one of the first foreign companies to enter into India. It began operations with a JV with Escorts India. By the turn of the century, the JV between Escorts and Yamaha broke off. With the relaxation of FDI norms to 100%, Yamaha was in Indian markets as a fully owned subsidiary of Yamaha Motors, Japan. This was advantageous in many ways. Firstly Yamaha had now full control of its operations, it could decide the strategies. Secondly it could bring world-class technologies from Japan to India, which could act as its competitive advantage. From 2002 onwards Yamaha started a process of rebuilding by concentrating more on 100cc plus deluxe category of motorcycles with bikes like Libero. These set of two wheelers come with international style, cutting edge technology, fuel efficiency, power delivery, and stylized graphics. The present stable of Yamaha includes bikes like Crux (100cc), Alba (106cc) and Gladiator (125cc). As far as the 150 cc segment is concerned, Yamaha was not much of a competitor for Bajaj Pulsar until now. It has some bikes in the premium category above 500cc but then they too have their niche customers, which would not clash with those of pulsar. Gladiator though not in the same category as Pulsar, has been a competitor for Pulsar. The main factors that work in favor of Gladiator is the huge price difference of about 12,000 between Gladiator and Pulsar, the higher mileage of Gladiator and durability. The company is riding on the popularity of Bollywood heartthrob John Abraham for marketing its two wheelers. These campaigns focus on Yamaha as a brand

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for the youth with emphasis on style, performance and technology. These campaigns have been successful in denting the share of Pulsar a little.

YAMAHA GLADIATOR JOHN ABRAHAM But the year 2008 appears to be a bright one for Yamaha. It is coming out with two bikes in the 150cc plus category, which have been very popular abroad. They are Yamaha R15 (150cc, water cooled) and FZ (150cc, air cooled). R15 has technology from R1 bikes and has six-speed transmission and has received excellent initial reviews. FZ is a toned down version of the original FZ 1000cc bikes. Both these bikes have been predicted by Industry experts to be a rage in their initial period and may eat into the share of Pulsar in the market. Yamaha is planning to improve on its weak-point no. of service centers. It is going to increase it to 500 from its present 350. It also plans to open about 10 direct shops in main metros for its new offerings and is coming out with aggressive marketing strategies for their launch. The company is also planning to come out with two new variants of the Gladiator. Thus Bajaj has to come out with new strategies to handle this new deluge of models which could affect the sales of Pulsar in the coming few months.

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YAMAHA FZ (150CC) & YAMAHA R15 (150CC)

FOREIGN COMPETITORSForeign players have been an integral part of the Indian auto market since long. It was the foreign players expertise that brought cutting edge technology into motorbikes and scooters went out for a toss. Post liberalization some of them have come out with bikes form their own stables. Also we have bike manufacturers in china who are a major threat to Indian bike makers. Chinese manufacturers produce at very cost and sell the products at low margins. They concentrate on production rather than marketing their products. It is very evident from their strategy that they target markets like India, Africa and Latin America and not developed markets like US or Europe. With increasing globalization and reduction of trade barriers they will be a major threat. Also there have been incidents when the Chinese have been found not to be very keen on conforming to IPRs or patents etc., a blatant case being a Chinese duplicate of Bajaj pulsar, called GULSAR and sold in the South American market. It may well very easily

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gnaw into Indian bike producers share. Also with the Indian economy growing at a much bigger rate then the developed countries markets and with a sixth of world population, which is growing richer by the day, it is evident that the market of the future is here. As a result all big bike manufacturers will make for the Indian market in the near future.

CHINA MADE GULSAR

One point of note is that there is no minimum investment limit for foreign companies in India and as a result the threat from the Chinese producers all but intensifies. Japanese producers like KTM and Kawasaki (which has prior experience of the Indian motorcycle market) are coming out with their higher end products once again. Also it is rumored that Harley Davidson and BMW intend to start exporting bikes to India. This is possibly an attempt to gauge the size of the market given that the import duty on bikes is a staggering 60%. The major threats posed are from the high cost-high performance bikes and the low costlow mileage bikes (from china etc.). Lets see how Bajaj might be planning to counter the twin threats.

Threat 1- High cost-performance segment:

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This segment can be expected to be a niche segment in the near future. However Bajaj is already doing R&D on coming out with 350cc and 500cc pulsars. Also with local manufacturing capability and given the time frame Bajaj pulsar should be able to compete against them successfully given they come out with consistent products. One more thing we need to keep in mind is that business India is not without its quirks, Yamaha when it was expanding worldwide suffered losses in the Indian market and now was on the verge of closing operations few months back.

Threat 2 - Low cost-low mileage-non-performance segment: With increasing fuel costs the consumers are getting more and more mileage conscious, also initial cost and maintenance cost are major factors that influence buyers choice in India. We can safely assume that Bajaj Pulsar is going to find it hard to ward off competition from this sector in near future. As such Bajaj needs to constantly innovate on its lower end product 150cc pulsar, Increase its mileage and probably try to cut costs by introducing economies of scale.

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SECTION IV Survey Analysis and RecommendationsA primary survey has been conducted for customer behavior towards the bikes and their likes and dislikes on http://www.zoomerang.com Survey Questionnaire and their respective interpretations Q1: Which is your preferred brand?

As we can see, most of the users have their preferred brand as Bajaj (52%) in a sample of 600 responses. Other half percentage comes under other brands. Q2: How much power do you like in a bike?

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It can be seen that almost half of the people said that they like bike with 150 cc engine. It can be dependent on the price range because liking of high power bikes is less as compared to 150 cc. More interpretations can be derived from next few questions. Q3: Price segment of the bike?

58% people say, they would like to go with the bike, which is in between 40k and 60k. This also goes in parallel with Q2 that people like 150cc bikes. It implies that price factor comes into mind of most consumers when they purchase a bike and thats why they are more diverted towards 150cc bikes. Q4: How much fuel-efficient your bike should be?

54% people say that they like bikes, which have a mileage between 40kmpl to 50kmpl. They do not like the bikes, which has a higher fuel consumption, which implies people are not ready to buy high power (180cc and above) bikes, as they are low on fuel efficiency and high on price.

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Q5: Which bikes do you like in 150 cc segment?

As it is clearly seen that Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTSi has beaten other brands with high percentage of 75% and other brands like TVS apache, Hero Honda Achiever and other have constituted only 25%. This clearly indicates that Bajaj Pulsar is one of the best in 150cc segment. Q7: Does Advertisement influence your decision in choosing a motorbike?

Advertisements do affect the consumers in consumers buying decision as seen from the result. 61% say that the advertisements impact them. It can be seen from above results that Bajaj is the best most of the parameters displayed above, be it mileage or price. Bajaj still needs to focus at its brand image because brand value of Hero Honda is more than Bajaj. Bajaj needs to focus on customer satisfaction in best possible way. Brand image would automatically be established if Bajaj becomes more customers oriented.

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Recommendations As we have seen from the conducted survey that Bajaj Pulsar 150 or Bajaj bikes are the best in bikes segment but still we would like to give some recommendation to Bajaj so that they can improvise. 1. Long hour driving comfort is what is missing from Bajaj Pulsar. So we would like to recommend that Bajaj should introduce a better design for comfort for long drives. 2. As Bajaj is spending much on other accessories like digital speedometer or electric start, they must also spend on the comfort accessories to the driver. 3. With good power in the bikes comes a disadvantage like lower mileage. Bajaj should invest in new technology to get more mileage in high power bikes. 4. Bajaj should introduce Tube less tires as an optional accessory. 5. Bajaj can introduce Vehicle tracker/Central locking for Bikes to prevent theft. 6. Bajaj can introduce disk brake for Rear tires as well, which is generally seen in sports bike. This will give Bajaj an X-factor.

CONCLUSIONPutting together these four sections on the analysis of Bajaj Pulsar as a product, its marketing strategies, its competitors etc. has given us many insights into the two-wheeler market as a whole. Starting with the first section about the SWOT analysis of Pulsar, we could analyze the various external and internal factors, which contribute into the growth 37

of Pulsar as a brand and the various opportunities, and threats it faces for its future prospects. We learned about the various marketing strategies adopted by Bajaj for Pulsar right from its inception and how they have been instrumental in building the brand Pulsar. Right from its Definitely Male to its latest Pulsarmania campaign. In the second section, we analyzed the consumer behavior for Pulsar in terms of purchase behavior, buying roles and decision-making process. We segmented the Pulsar brand into various categories according cc of engine and analyzed the consumer behavior for each. We also had the support of various customer surveys, conducted by us as well as from some external agencies to substantiate the analysis. This section helped us understand how Bike makers cater to various segments through various offerings and customer centric measures, in case of Pulsar these being Probiking stores and Extended Warranty plans. In the third section we undertook the competitor analysis of Pulsar among various categories from various companies. We understood the various strategies taken by these companies for their products and the effect this had on the Pulsar sales. We understood the status and activities of the competitors like Hero Honda, Yamaha, TVS and foreign competitors. In the fourth section we analyzed the results of the survey conducted by us with respect to different brands of bikes and compared them on some parameters like price, mileage etc. In the end, we concluded that Bajaj Pulsar 150 DTSi is the best bike in 150 cc segments over-powering other bikes, which include Yamaha, TVS and other brands. Also, we were able to give recommendations to Bajaj and other bike companies, which would help them in improving the bikes and building a brand image. Thus overall, this project was an experiential way to understand the concepts of marketing and how they are applied in the real world.

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REFERENCES1. Pulsar 150cc reviews www.mouthshut.com 2. Pulsar Club Site www.pulsarclub.com 3. Bajaj Auto site www.bajajauto.com 4. Buying roles model by Yoram Wind, Frederick Webster www.provenmodels.com 5. Hero Honda Karizma - www.herohondakarizma.com 6. Yamaha India - www.yamaha-motor-india.com 7. www.wikipedia.org 8. TVS Motors - www.tvsmotor.in

Jorian Ponomareff is one of the best freestyle motorcycle stunt riders in the world. His stunt videos have already been a huge hit worldwide among the bikers who love stunting. We caught up with him on the sets of Pulsar MTV Stuntmania Underground where he can be seen as a special celebrity judge and also can be seen teaching the contestants a few tricks. The winner of this new season of Stuntmania will also get to train under Jorian Ponomareff in France and also do shows abroad with him!

Pulsar is one of my favorite brands both as a bike rider and as a marketer. This bike has virtually redefined biking in this country. Pulsar launched in 2001 is the

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market leader in the 150 cc + performance bike segment. More than that ,

this brand changed the fortune of Bajaj Auto Ltd. Before the launch of Pulsar, Indian bike market was divided broadly into Economy,Executive and Premium Bikes. In 1999 Hero Honda created a new segment of 150 cc performance segment with its CBZ. But Pulsar came and gave a new life into the Performance segment. Although not a pioneer, Pulsar made the performance segment one of the fastest growing segment in the two wheeler market. It was not only the bike's performance that triggered the brand becoming an icon, a major part of the success was due to the classic advertising campaign by O&M. According to agencyfaqs, the birth of the "Definitely Male " campaign is interesting. The creative honchos found the new product from Bajaj distinctly different. It was Bajaj's first bike without Kawasaki label. The new bike was an R&D and design marvel.Pulsar was designed by the renowned design house Tokyo R&D. O&M knew that the communication of this brand should also be different.Starting with lot of ideas, O&M stuck upon the Big Idea of India's HeBike. Although lot of bike take the persona of Macho bikes it was more oriented towards being "sexy". The Big Idea was to position the bike as World's first bike endowed with a Sex ( Gender).Thus born the classic campaign of all times " Definitely Male". The campaign together with the design and performance catapulted the brand into stratospheric sales level. Bajaj targeted the 18-24 with Pulsar but later found that the brand appealed to a much older audience. This helped Bajaj to change its target audience to 21-35 years. Unlike its old ways of doing things, Bajaj did not rest with the laurels. It knew that Pulsar is the golden key to control the entire bike market. Hence Pulsar got undivided attention from the company. In 2003 another milestone event happened in the product lifecycle of the brand. Bajaj launched its new technology

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DTSI. DTSi stands for Digital Twin Spark Ignition which delivered more power and efficiency. The increased performance of the brand took Pulsar to greater heights. 2004 and 2005 saw some cosmetic changes in the brand which excited the customers and thus cementing Pulsar's position in the market.

Pulsar came in two variants : 180 cc and 150 cc where 180 cc excited the performance bikers, 150 cc was for the mileage conscious ones. The 150cc variant took lot of customers away from the executive segment to the performance segment. The brand had its share of marketing flaws also. According to reports, Bajaj reassigns its media duties to two brands O&M and Leo Burnett, every six months.When DTSI was launched, the creative duty was assigned to Leo Burnett. Leo Burnett did a big mistake on the brand by changing the positioning of " Definitely Male" to "Digital Biking". Although the ads were successful in conveying the technological superiority of DTSI and making that acronym popular, it deleted the most successful tagline from the brand's elements. After ruling the premium bike segment, Bajaj is taking their brand to another level. Bajaj recently launched Bajaj Pulsar 200 Dtsi to take on the comeptition from Hero Honda and the like. The new Pulsar boasts of spruced up engine, new digital console and new style. Pulsar is definitely getting better. Pulsar 200 is being launched with a new campaign revolving round the concept of Free Biking. Free Biking ( as defined by the brand Pulsar) is all about tackling

obstacles.According to company officials, its

about

how you ride rather than where you ride. The ads made by O&M is filmed at Hawana Cuba ( expensive). Set to pulsating Arabian music, the ad shows how two Pulsar riders discover new route when their main way is blocked by traffic jam.

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One word to describe this ad is HYPERBOLE and too much of it. What I feel is that the Big Idea od Free Biking is good but execution is ordinary. What made Pulsar a super brand was its ability to come out with different disruptive campaigns. But in the case of Pulsar 200, it is a sort of cut copy paste from some Hollywood movie (James Bond). More over, the Big Idea is also not properly communicated through the visuals. Also most of the time I was trying to make out some meaning out of the background song, later to find out that it was Arabic. See the new Pulsar Ad here: Pulsar 200

Now every one is waiting for the new Bajaj 220 cc DTSFI which will redefine the bike segment again. Sadly Bajaj is no longer using its blockbuster tagline " Definitely Male" but instead is using the corporate brand tagline " Distinctly Ahead". Bajaj earlier had another corporate tagline " Inspiring Confidence" when it completely redesigned its corporate logo and brand. I still strongly believe that not using "Definitely Male" is a gross injustice to the brand itself. That tagline and positioning has lot of fire with it and except for the initial two campaigns, Pulsar was not able to build on its Definitely Male Platform. But what ever I say and what ever the agency communicates through the ads, Pulsar has made itself into a position of strength. It has a brand equity so huge that what ever that comes out of it will be lapped up in no time. The success of Pulsar 200 DTSI is no longer dependent on the quality of ads but on the performance it delivers. This brand shows the power of brand equity where customers buy ,irrespective of lousy ads......

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Brand Name

Bajaj Pulsar

Logo

Parent Company Category Sector Tagline/ Slogan USP

Bajaj Auto Motorcycles Two-wheeler Definitely Male, The Fastest Indian Powerful engine and good pickup STP

Segment Target Group Positioning

Young boys looking for fast sporty bikes for Indian roads Young boys in the age 18-30 middle class The No.1 Sports bike in India SWOT 1. Excellent brand name 2.High product quality 3.High performance, speed and pickup 1. Very low mileage 2. Very heavy thus preventing safety 3. High cost 1. Expansion in rural and tier-2 cities 2. Cost management thus reducing the price of the bike

Strength

Weakness Opportunity

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3. Developmental changes thus reducing bike's weight 1. New entrants 2. Competitors 3. Low cost bikes Competition 1.Karizma 2.CBZ 3.FZ

Threats

Competitors

Two-wheeler manufacturer Bajaj Auto on Tuesday launched Pulsar 135 LS priced at Rs 51,000 (ex-showroom Delhi), which marks the company's foray into entry-level bike segment. "Bajaj Auto has a serious plan to become global number one and there are many programmes being developed for this purpose," Bajaj Auto Two-Wheeler CEO S Sridhar told reporters here after launching the Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS. Commenting on Pulsar LS 135, Sridhar said it had many firsts including a four valve DTS-i engine. It has a top speed of 115 kmph and accelerates to 60 kmph in 5.1 seconds.

MUMBAI: The sales of Bajaj Auto's 'Pulsar' motorcycles crossed 50,000 units in seven months of its launch. The demand for the motorcycle was continuously growing and the company was planning to ramp up production to 20,000 units by October 2002, a BAL release said here on Friday. Pulsar is available in two engine capacities of 150cc and 180cc, it added. "The Pulsar is gradually being seen as a flagship brand for Bajaj Auto and this should augur well for consumers across the country. NEW DELHI: Unimpressed by Bajaj Auto's price war in the 150cc bike segment, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India today said it is "impossible" to launch premium segment motorcycle at a tag of Rs 46,000 -- the price at which the Pune-based bikemaker sells its latest model 'Discover 150'. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI), which on Wednesday launched its new 150cc bike, CB Unicorn Dazzler, at a price of Rs 62,900 (ex-showroom Delhi), said it will not join the price war started by the rival.NEW DELHI: Aiming to expand its portfolio in executive segment motorcycles, Bajaj Auto today said it will launch Pulsar in the sub-150 cc category early next month. ( Watch ) The company also said it expects to sell 10 lakh units of the Pulsar range of bikes in 2010, on the back of the yet-tobe launched bike. "The all new sub-150cc Pulsar will be launched on December 9, 2009... The brand task now is to

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invest in category creation, thereby increasing the size of the sports segment," Bajaj Auto said in a statement. The company said the 'sub-150cc Pulsar' will sport a new design and a power train. It, however, did not divulge the expected price of the new Pulsar. The company already has three versions under the Pulsar series with 150cc, 180cc and 220cc engines. "With this new bike, Pulsar is expected to touch the one million mark in 2010," the company said. Bajaj Auto further said it has witnessed 80 per cent jump in sales of the Pulsar series over the last six months. "In the second quarter of 2009-10, average sales (of Pulsar range) were 45,000 units per month as compared to average sales of 25,000 units per month in the second half of 2008-09 and have reached an overall share of 50 per cent in the sports segment," it said. NEW DELHI: Four years after its Indian debut, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) drove into the bike market on Wednesday with its 150cc Unicorn, priced neck-and-neck with segment leader Bajaj Pulsar. The Unicorn is priced at Rs 50,043 (ex-showroom, Delhi), while the Pulsar is pegged at around Rs 50,000. Even in Pune, the Unicorn at Rs 47,811, is a shade cheaper than Pulsar (Rs 48,000 approximately). Other products in this segment, like the Hero Honda CBZ and TVS Fiero F2, are niche players. HMSI, which has rolled out three scooter models so far, will target joint venture partner Hero Honda's bread and butter entry as well as its executive segment with future launches in the motorcycle market.

"Truth is stranger than fiction; that is the bottomline of these shows," says Ogilvy & Mather national creative director Abhijit Avasthi. "I think viewers had had enough of saas-bahu dramas, which is why you see a rise in reality shows," he adds. According to TV-audience measurement agency TAM, reality shows commanded 14.7% share of the viewership in 2010 on the top 5 Hindi channels, second only to serials' 64% share. Reality shows are cheaper to produce and easier to sell to marketers because they give brands a wider scope to participate than family dramas. Stunt Mania, a stunt show that ran on MTV for two seasons, for example, was woven around Bajaj Pulsar motorcycle. "We didn't see it (Stuntmania) as a reality show," says Bajaj Auto's twowheeler marketing head Milind Bade. "For me, it was a onehour commercial, which talks to the customer every minute, in a language he (or she) understands in a non-intrusive and engaging way." Hosted by Bollywood stunt director Allan Amin, the show had more than 50,000 youth, including girls, lined up for auditions.

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Bade said the company is discussing a third edition of Stuntmania with MTV. The music channel also runs a similar show, MTV Roadies , with Hero Honda Karizma motorcycle. The eighth season of the show started last week. Brands get their play even if their products are not crucial to a show. Cadbury's chocolate is exchanged in Kaun Banega Crorepati, the fourth edition of the popular quiz show now running on Sony channel, while General Motors give away Chevrolet Cruze sedans to the winners of Bigg Boss, which makes various celebrities live in the same house for three months and viewers choose the best resident. KOLKATA: The country's second largest two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto today said it will focus on the sports segment of which it enjoys a 50 per cent market share. "We are at the top of the sports segment with Pulsar and want to focus on that segment", Bajaj Auto President (motorcycles business) S Sridhar said here today. The company currently holds a market share of 27 per cent in the motorcycle segment and wants to "increase it by three to four per cent by the end of the current fiscal," Sridhar informed.

October 2001 At the time when India was riding on 100 cc bikes, Pulsar was launched with two variants; 150 cc and 180 cc, stirring the entire two wheeler market. And with that, India's first Sports Bike was born. October 2003 By now, Pulsar was already ruling the roads. It dominated the two wheeler market with 71% market share. Pulsar was selling almost two times more than the competitor bikes put together (which included CBZ, Karizma, Hunk, Fiero and Apache.) November 2004 In the wake of rising competition, Pulsar was still the best seller with 21,311 bikes, when seven competing brands collectively sold 16701 bikes. Pulsar was still a rage. October 2006 In October '06, the Pulsar 150 and 180 went through another round of stylish and technological overhaul. The sales of Pulsar saw a new high with 40,574 bikes sold, which was almost double the competitor bikes put together. February 2007 The higher order was created and the first Indian bikes to break the 200 cc barrier had hit the road - The Pulsar 200 and 220. Biking in India was set to change and Pulsar was again leading the revolution. May 2009 By May '09, Pulsar was competing with no less than 11 different brands in the market. Despite the tough competition, Pulsar sold 65,928 bikes, which were numbers till date. Riders were not ready to part with Pulsar which was evolving at a stupendous rate. June 2009 By 2009-10, when the competitors were still coping to keep up with the speedy evolution of Pulsar, the Pulsar was enjoying a record high sale of over 65,000 bikes. The competitors had understood it wasn't going to be easy. December 2009 The Pulsar 135 LS was introduced, which was lighter, compact and flaunted a leaner and sportier

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look. Pulsar 135 is the most awarded bike ever.

January 2010 A new variant of Pulsar was launched - Pulsar 220 Street Fighter. The bike carried forward the look of the legendary Pulsar 200. And with the launch, Pulsar broke all previous records and sold 76,023 units. awards

2009 - 2010PulsarEffective use of branded content for Pulsar MTV StuntMania - AME

PulsarBest Film in Auto category for Fastest Indian - ABBY

Pulsar

Silver for Pulsar Mania Ad - EFFIE

Pulsar 135 LSViewer's Choice Bike of the Year - UTV Bloomberg

Pulsar 135 LS

Technology of the Year - 4Valve - ET NOW - Zigwheels

Pulsar 135 LSBike of the Year - ET NOW - Zigwheels

Pulsar 135 LS

150 cc Bike of the Year - ET NOW - Zigwheels

2007 - 2008Pulsar 220 DTS-FiIMOTY Award - Indian Motorcycle of the Year 2008 - All Auto Mags - Overdrive, AutoCar, BS, Bike, Top Gear

Pulsar 220 DTS-FiBike of the Year 2008 - NDTV Profit Car India and Bike India Awards

Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi

Bike of the Year 2008 - Overdrive

PulsarRanked First in ' TOP 30 AUTOMOBILE BRANDS OF INDIA ' 2008 - 4Ps Power Brand Awards

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2006 - 2007Pulsar DTS-FiBike of the Year 2007 - CNBC - TV 18 AutoCar Auto Awards

2004 - 2005Bajaj Pulsar DTS-iTNS Automotive Total Customer Satisfaction in Premium Segment - NFO Automotive

2003 - 2004DTS-i TechnologyAuto Tech of the year - ICICI Bank OVERDRIVE Awards 2004

Bajaj Pulsar DTS-iBike of the Year - ICICI Bank OVERDRIVE Awards 2004

2002 - 2003Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTS-iBBC World Wheels Viewers Choice Two Wheeler of the Year 2003 - IBBC World Wheels

Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTS-iBBC World Wheels Award for Best Two Wheeler between Rs. 55,000 to Rs. 70,000 - IBBC World Wheels

Bajaj PulsarMotorcycle Total Customer Satisfaction Study 2003 - NFO Automotive

Bajaj Pulsar

Bike of the Year 2003 - ICICI Bank OVERDRIVE Awards 2003

Bajaj PulsarBike of the Year 2002 - Business Standard Motoring

Bajaj Pulsar

Most Exciting Bike of the Year 2003 - By OVERDRIVE

Bajaj Pulsar 150 CC Price Ex-Showroom Prices updated on 26-February-2011

Bajaj Pulsar 150 cc Price in Delhi: 62,637/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 150 cc Price in Mumbai: 61,286/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 150 cc Price in Chennai: 62,899/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 150cc Price in Bangalore: 63,058/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 150cc Price in Hyderabad: 63,917/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 150cc Price in Kolkata: 64,286/- Indian Rupee

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Bajaj Pulsar 150 cc Price in Pune: 61,286/- Indian Rupee

Bajaj Pulsar 180 CC Price Ex-Showroom Prices updated on 26-February-2011

Bajaj Pulsar 180 cc Price in Delhi: 65,794/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 180 cc Price in Mumbai: 64,264/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 180 cc Price in Chennai: 66,230/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 180cc Price in Bangalore: 66,150/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 180cc Price in Hyderabad: 67,238/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 180cc Price in Kolkata: 68,198/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 180 cc Price in Pune: 64,264/- Indian Rupee

Bajaj Pulsar 220 cc Price in Delhi: 82,500/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 220 cc Price in Mumbai: 85,325/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 220 cc Price in Chennai: 82,900/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 220 cc Price in Bangalore: 82,475/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 220 cc Price in Hyderabad: 82,400/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 220cc Price in Kolkata: 93,620/- Indian Rupee Bajaj Pulsar 220 cc Price in Pune: 80,900/- Indian Rupee

Honda CB Unicorn Price: Rs. 61,369/Honda CB Unicorn Dazzler Price: Rs. 64,121/TVS Apache RTR 180 with ABS Price: Rs. 78,800/TVS Apache RTR 160 Price in India: Rs. 59,900/TVS Apache RTR 180 Price: Rs. 66,000/April 09, 2010

E

ver wondered the reasons behind the huge success of Baja Auto's Pulsar range of bikes? Currently

Bajaj sells around 60,000 units per month. Overwhelmed by the demand Bajaj is now planning to increase the production capacity of its Chakan plant to 90,000 units. What is the secret behind Pulsar's popularity? Most young bikers prefer this because of its sporty looks and technology. The

versions of the model currently available in the Indian market include Pulsar 135 LS, Pulsar 150 TDS-i, Pulsar 180 TDS-i and Pulsar 220 TDS-i.

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The bike is the market leader in the 150 cc segment with a market share of 43 per cent. Expecting a surge in demand, Bajaj has set up sales target of one million units of Pulsar for FY 2011. Developed by Bajaj Auto [ Get Quote ] in association with designer Glynn Kerr Tokyo R&D, Pulsar was first launched on November 24, 2001. At that time, the Indian two-wheeler industry was populated by 80-100cc bikes with less power capacity. Bajaj had expected Pulsar to attract young power biking lovers of the country. The whole project cost Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion). The original Pulsar was equipped with a 150 cc engine. The petrol bike had spark-ignited four-stroke engine with air-cooled, single-cylinder. The bike, with wheelbase of 1,235 mm, had simple spring shock absorbers and round headlamp dome. Parking lights and an aircraft-type fuel tank lid were other features of the bike. Bajaj later came up with 180 cc version of Pulsar. The bike was also offered in electric start option. Bajaj Auto offered the second generation of Pulsar with its patented DTSi technology. DTSi stands for Digital Twin Spark [ Images ] Ignition, and it involves usage of two spark plugs (instead of one) per engine cylinder. It helped in both increasing power and saving fuel for the bike. Bajaj Auto launched a new version of Pulsar with 17-inch alloy wheels as standard option in 2005. The new bike had fuel tank capacity of only 15 litres, but the power output was increased to 13.5 bhp (10.1 kW) @ 8500 rpm for the 150 cc version while it was increased to 16.5 bhp (12.3 kW) @ 8500 rpm for the 180 cc model. Bajaj re-launched Pulsar with some new features in 2006. The new features included pilot lamps separated from the main headlamp, flush LCD screen with digital read-out of key vehicle data, non-contact speed sensor and non-contact backlit switches. Bajaj showcased fuel injected model Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi at the New Delhi [ Images ] Auto Expo in 2006, and later launched it in 2007. The model was later replaced by Pulsar 220 DTS-i in 2009. Bajaj Auto launched a carbureted version of Pulsar 220 in June 2009, and billed it as "The fastest bike in India [ Images ]". The company discontinued Pulsar 200 in July 2009. The company launched Pulsar 135LS, a 134.66 cc bike, in December 2009. The bike was a huge hit with young bike buyers. It became the 2nd largest bike in the performance segment within 100 days of its launch with monthly sales of around 25,000 units. Pulsar 150 TDS-i is the best selling bike in the performance segment with sales of around 26,000 unit sales per month. Pulsar 150 TDS-i is equipped with 149.01cc air-cooled petrol engine with five speed manual transmission gearbox that produces 14.09PS of maximum power and 12.76Nm of maximum torque. The 180cc model of Pulsar is powered by 178.6cc, 4-stroke petrol engine that produces maximum power of 17.02PS and maximum torque of 14.22Nm.

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On the other hand, the 220cc Pulsar has air-cooled and oil-cooled petrol engine that delivers 21.04PS of power and 19.12Nm of torque. Pulsar has been awarded several times since its launch in 2001. The awards include "Bike of the Year" by CNBC-TV18 Autocar in 2007, "Viewers' Choice Two Wheeler of Year" by BBC World Wheels Award in 2003 and "Most Exciting Bike of the Year" by Overdrive magazine in 2002.

Generation next technology included in the package of the equipments of this high flying bike is the revolutionary digital biking. Digital biking is the combination of various advanced systems like digital CDI, TRICS III and Digital Twin Spark ignition (DTSi). Bajaj Pulsar

Its highly masculine outlook with sporty, dashing structure gives the complete satisfaction of dare riding. Bajaj Pulsar enables its rider to tackle the situation of overcrowded street due to the presence of 17" alloy wheels with 1330 mm wheelbase. Its comfort statement includes front telescopic suspension, Nitro X - Nitrogen assisted rear gas shockers with triple rated spring. Due to these comfort features, this bike is highly accommodative in any terrain. Feeling of proper riding is provided by different high end features like improved clutch, cylinder head with Roller Rocker Arms, optimized intake and exhaust systems & new valve timings. Its advanced ExhausTEC (Torque Expansion Chamber) technology ensures the higher performance at lower rpm.Ads by Google

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This bike comes in two different variants: Pulsar 180 DTS-i UG

Pulsar 150 ES DTS-i UG Pulsar 200 ES DTS-i UG Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi

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Pulsar 180 DTS-i UG This bike comes with the power of 16.5 bhp (12.28 kW) @ 8000 rpm and torque of 15.22 Nm @ 6000 rpm. Its engine capacity is 180 cc. View Technical Specification of Pulsar 180 DTS-i UG

Pulsar 150 ES DTS-i UG Its engine delivers maximum output of 13.5 bhp (9.94 kW) @ 8000 rpm and performance of 12.28 Nm @ 6500 rpm. Its engine capacity is 150 cc. View Technical Specification of Pulsar 150 ES DTS-i UG

Pulsar 200 ES DTS-i UG Bajaj Pulsar's another powerful variant to have graced the Indian tarmac is the elegant 200 cc bike which has become the fancy of any Indian bike enthusiast's. The bike features 200 cc fuel injected engine and has a self-adjustable oil cooler that adjusts the lube oil viscosity which in turn polishes its overall performance. It has a large front fork of 33 mm that enhances its shock absorbing quality. Some of the bike's salient features are : Stylish petrol tank flap along with anti scratch tank pad

Has fuel injection New silencer with ExausTEC technology that maintains engine torque Split seat that provides better sitting space Has a comparatively light weight Delivers the maximum power of 18 PS Excellent performance giving 17" alloy wheels

View Technical Specification of Pulsar 200 ES DTS-i UG

Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi Bajaj Motors launches the yet another variant called Pulsar DTS-Fi. It has a world's first 4 stroke digital twin spark fuel injected engine of 220 cc. This ravishing variant has a unique digital speedometer along with engine malfunction indicator which would convey any malfunction to the user. Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi is the India's first bike to deliver a high wattage of H7, 55W of light that ensures the constant illumination at all times. Other

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salient features are as follows:

High Oil Temperature indicator Low Battery Voltage indicator Choked Air Filter indicator Low Engine Oil Level indicator High beam is a clear lens parabolic lamp Low beam is a ellipsoidal projector lamp Front and Rear tubeless tyres Highest power output of 20 PS

View Technical Specification of Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi

HONDA* Aggressive Styling: Floating side cowl, Aggressive front, Wide rear tyre * Advanced equipments like Front & Rear disc brakes, digital meter, tubeless tyres * Refined 150cc Honda engine to deliver 14 BHP * Best in the class mileage: 60 kmpl* * Convenience with Maintenance-free battery and viscous air-filter * Comfort with Mono Suspension, Advance design diamond frame * Environment-friendly bike complying with BS-III norms Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI), the 100% owned 2wheeler subsidiary of the Honda Motor Company, Japan the worlds largest manufacturer of 2-wheelers, today launched its CB Unicorn Dazzler bike. Honda entered in the Motorcycle market in India in 2004 with the introduction of Unicorn (now CB Unicorn). CB Unicorn has been refreshed regularly to meet the diversified needs of customers. With one of the most refined engine in the segment, CB Unicorn has created a very premium image among the mature male customers. CB Unicorn will continue to exist in the segment. The CB Unicorn Dazzler that we have launched today is a step further towards adding more value to the much-admired model.

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Living up to the style aspirations of Indian two-wheeler customers, the CB Unicorn Dazzler offers aggressive styling, advanced equipments, blistering performance, impressive mileage of 60 kmpl*, comfort and convenience. The bike has aggressive style with floating side cowl, aggressive front, screenless front cowl, 110/80 wider rear tyre and half-chain case. Other attractive features include: two-tone seat, new design mirror, handle bar weights, 3D emblem, digital meter and front & rear disc brake. Various advanced equipments have been added in the bike which makes it the best in its segment. Powered with 150cc reformed engine, the bike delivers excellent performance with 14 BHP power. It is equipped with tubeless tyres and alloy wheels and offers best pick-up and mileage combination in the segment. CB Unicorn Dazzler will deliver a mileage of 60 kmpl*. The bike is equipped with maintenance free battery & viscous air filter for more convenience. Strictly adhering to the BS-III norms, it is environment friendly like all other Honda products. The price for ex showroom Delhi is Rs. 62,900. The CB Unicorn Dazzler will be available to the customers by the end of May, 2010. The bike will be available in four attractive colours Armour Gold Metallic, Pearl Nightstar Black, Sword Silver Metallic and Pearl Siena Red. Present at the launch event were: Mr Atsushi Amataka, President, Honda R&D India; Mr Shinji Aoyama, CEO & President, HMSI; along with Mr N.K. Rattan, Operating Head Sales & Marketing, HMSI. Excerpts from Company officialsGlobally, Honda has always been at the forefront in strengthening technologies to enhance product quality, safety, conserve the environment and contribute to society. Being the worlds largest manufacturer of two-wheelers, we recognize India as the most important 2-wheeler market accounting around 40% of our global sales figure. Our customers here expect the unique products and we are trying to serve them in the best possible manner. All our technologies and efforts are driven towards making our customers happy and ensuring their safety. - Mr Atsushi Amataka, President, Honda R&D India

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With good appreciation by Indian customers, Honda has always been on the growth momentum in India. We achieved sales of 12.7 lakh units in 2009-10 and have set a target of achieving 18% growth this year by selling over 15 lakh units. With our Fun, Safety and Environment initiatives, we are constantly trying to become a company that the society admires. Todays launch of New CB Unicorn Dazzler is to satisfy the diversified needs of Indian customers. We will continue to provide such unique products for healthy expansion of fun-biking culture in India. - Mr. Shinji Aoyama, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt Ltd. The CB Unicorn Dazzler will be available to customers by end of May. It is an ideal bike for young people who aspire for aggressive style and performance. The bike offers blistering performance by delivering a power of 14 BHP and a mileage of 60 kms/ltr*. With a price-tag of Rs 62,900 (Delhi Ex-Showroom), the bike is a very attractive option for the Indian youngsters. We plan to sell 120,000 units of CB Unicorn and CB Unicorn Dazzler in the first year. explained Mr. N.K.Rattan, Operating Head, Sales & Marketing, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd, during the new product presentation About HMSI: HMSI Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd, IMT Manesar, Gurgaon, Haryana. 100 % Subsidiary of Honda Motors Co. Japan Established Dec,1999 Operational May, 2001 Total Investment till March 10 Over 1200 Crores FY 01-02 02-03 03-04 04-05 05-06 06-07 07-08 08-09 09-10 10-11(Plan) Sales Volume 55 166 341 551 600 715 907 1,070 1,270 1,500 Growth (YoY) 202% 105% 62% 8% 19% 27% 18% 18% 18%

Honda is the world''s largest manufacturer of 2-wheelers. Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI), is a 100% owned subsidiary of Honda Motor Company Ltd., Japan. Current HMSI products include New Activa, New Dio & New Aviator in Scooters and CB Twister, CB Unicorn, CB Shine, CBF Stunner, CBF Stunner PGM-FI Motorcycles. All products have been well received in the market and have created new benchmarks in their respective categories. HMSI has also entered the Fun-Bike segment last year with the launch of CBR1000RR Fireblade and CB1000R bikes in the Indian market.

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* Mileage of 60 Kms/Ltr is based on internal Honda test ride mode that is close to actual city riding conditionsCB Unicorn is powered with Honda 4-stroke, 150cc engine and incorporates many cutting-edge technologies developed by Hondas global R&D team. It sets new benchmark in the uppper majority motorcycle segment in India with its swift acceleration, superior mileage, international styling, riding comfort and convenience. CB Unicorn is engineered and styled for the taste of the younger generation. With the 4-stroke, 150cc engine delivering a whooping 13.3 bhp, CB Unicorn is the fastest motorcycle in India racing from 0 to 60 kms* per hour in a mere 5 seconds. It has a distinctive sporty and macho design with a racy front face, masculine fuel tank with knee grip and a sleek rear cowl. CB Unicorn offers perfect balance of pickup and mileage, delivering 60 kmpl through its famed 4stroke Honda engine, cutting edge technologies like Multi-Mapping CDI, Tumble Flow Combustion Chamber, Roller Rocker arm, and a Classy Aerodynamic Body. This engineering masterpiece with international design appeal, guarantees to quench your thirst for motorcycle frenzy with all its stunning features.Mysore CB Unicorn 64057 * 74035

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Bajaj Pulsar is a motorcycle brand owned by Bajaj Auto in India. The two wheeler was developed by the product engineering division of Bajaj Auto in association with motorcycle designer Glynn Kerr Tokyo R&D.[1] Currently there are four variants available -with engine capacities of 135 cc, 150 cc, 180 cc and 220 cc. Previously it was also offered with a 200 cc DTS-i oil cooled engine, which now has been discontinued. More than a million units of Pulsar were sold by November 2005. With monthly sales of more than 48,000 units in June 2009, Pulsar is the leader in the 150 cc segment in India with a market share of 43%.[2] Before the introduction of the Pulsar, the Indian motorcycle market trend was towards fuel efficient, small capacity motorcycles (that formed the 80-125 cc class). Bigger motorcycles with higher capacity virtually did not exist (except for Enfield Bullet). The launch and success of Hero Honda CBZ in 1999 showed that there was demand for performance bikes. Bajaj took the cue from there on and launched the Pulsar twins in India on November 24, 2001. [3] Since the introduction and success of Bajaj Pulsar, Indian youth began expecting high power and other features from affordable motorcycles. The project was faced with internal resistance, reservations by Mckinsey and doubts on its effects on Bajaj's relation with Kawasaki. The project required approximately 36 months for completion and cost Bajaj Rs 1 billion.[4]Pulsar-180 engine sound

The Engine sound of a Pulsar 180 while running.

Problems listening to this file? See media help.

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Contents[hide]

o o o o o o o o o

1 Specifications 2 Evolution 2.1 2001 2.2 2003 2.3 2005 2.4 2006 2.5 2007 2.6 2008 2.7 2009 2.8 2010 3 Technology 3.1 DTSi

o o o o o 4 Awards 4.1 2008 4.2 2007 4.3 2003 4.4 2002 5 References 6 External links

3.1.1 Patent infringement allegations 3.2 ExhausTEC

[edit]Specifications

2010 2010 [Ceased in Pulsar Pulsar 150 Pulsar 180 2009] Pulsar [5] 135 DTS-i DTS-i 200 DTS-i

[Ceased in 2010 2010 Pulsar 2009] Pulsar Pulsar 220S DTS-i 220 DTS-Fi 220F DTS-i

Power (HP) 13.5

15.10

17.3

18.2

20

21.04

21.04

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Torque (Nm)

11.4

12.45

14.22

17.98

18.7

19.12

19.18

Wheelbase (mm)

1325

1320

1345

1345

1350

1350

1350

Weight (kg) 122

143

147

147

150

152

148

Top Speed (km/h)

142 112[6] 116 117 120 127 66[7]

[edit]Evolution [edit]2001

The original Pulsar came with a 150 cc air-cooled, singlecylinder, petrol, spark-ignited four-stroke engine which made 13 HP of maximum power. They featured a single spark plug to ignite the air-fuel mixture fed from a carburetor, simple spring shock absorbers, round headlamp dome and 1,265 mm wheelbase. Disc brakes as standard equipment was a novelty in Indian motorcycles of the early 2000s. Other standard features were parking lights and an aircraft-type fuel tank lid. The design of the motorcycle was inspired by an wide open muscular human arm. The 180 cc version made 15 HP of maximum power and came with a twin-tone horn, which was optional equipment on the 150 cc version. Electric Start (ES) was offered as standard feature in the 180 cc model and optional on the 150 cc model.[8]

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[edit]2003

2003 Model bajaj pulsar 150 cc

The second generation Pulsars featured Bajaj Auto's newly developed DTSi technology, which increased the power rating of both versions by 1 hp (0.75 kW) each and also increased fuel economy.[9] This model also introduce a new headlamp assembly, 1,320 mm wheelbase,[10] and standard twin-tone horn and trip meter.[edit]2005

In 2005, Bajaj launched another upgrade of the Pulsar. The bike was offered with 17-inch (430 mm) alloy wheels as standard option, and the stance was also lowered by about 12 mm. It was the first time any bike maker in India had offered 17-inch (430 mm) profile wheels at the rear. The fuel tank now had a capacity of only 18 litres.[11] The power output was now further increased to 13.5 hp (10.1 kW) @ 8500 rpm for the 150 while it increased to 16.5 hp (12.3 kW) @ 8500 rpm for the 180.[12] The rear shock absorbers were now gas-filled Nitrox absorbers.

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The LCD screen introduced with the UG-3 version of the Pulsar

[edit]2006

Bajaj introduced another version of Pulsar (UG III). New features included: pilot lamps separated from the main headlamp, turn indicators with clear lenses and amber bulb, self-cancelling turn indicator switch, flush LCD screen with digital read-out of key vehicle data, non-contact speed sensor, non-contact backlit switches, twin-stripe LED tail-light assembly and side panels altered for a sharp, tapering-towards-the-rear look. The engine had increased torque availability, reduced vibration and improved gear shift feel. cc variants.[13]

The new headlamp design introduced for the entire Pulsar series in 2006

[edit]2007

Main article: Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi In July 2007, Bajaj began selling the Bajaj Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi and Pulsar 200 DTS-i, the former featuring fuel injection and oil cooled engines, a digital dash, and modern styling. This bike has some features which are totally new to the Indian market, like the fuel injection itself, rear disc brake and clip-on handlebars(the first two only available in the 220 model).[edit]2008

Main article: Bajaj Pulsar 200 DTS-i The new Pulsar has many firsts to its credit. It comes equipped with an oil cooler, which helps control engine oil temperatures at61

sustained high speeds and rpms, thus ensuring more stable engine oil viscosity. The 200 cc DTS-I engine generates 18 HP of raw pulsating power to provide riding excitement to performance hungry bikers. This makes the Pulsar 200 the most sporty and stylish powerhouse on two wheels to pace the Indian roads. Its also the first bike in India to feature both front and rear tubeless tires, which besides offering superior stability are safer than conventional tube types and in sync with the offerings abroad for similar applications. The rear tire is the broadest in its category to ensure better road grip and stability. The new digital console is an advanced version of the latest Pulsar fami