2. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
We 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 company’s 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
3. 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 Pulsar’s
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
3
4. Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................2
SECTION – I.............................................................................................................................5
1.HISTORY AND SWOT ANALYSIS OF BAJAJ PULSAR................................................................5
1.1INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................5
1.2WHY BAJAJ PULSAR?..........................................................................................................6
1.3SHIFTING TRENDS TOWARDS MOTORCYCLES....................................................................7
1.4MARKETING HISTORY.........................................................................................................8
1.5SWOT MATRIX OF BAJAJ PULSAR.....................................................................................10
SECTION – II..........................................................................................................................13
2.ANALYSING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR IN TERMS OF BUYING ROLES, DECISION MAKING
PROCESS AND KIND OF PURCHASE BEHAVIOR......................................................................13
2.1BUYING ROLES.................................................................................................................14
2.1.1150cc.............................................................................................................................15
2.1.2180CC............................................................................................................................17
2.1.3200cc and 220cc............................................................................................................18
2.2CONSUMER CENTRIC STEPS BY BAJAJ..............................................................................20
SECTION – III.........................................................................................................................23
3.COMPETITOR ANALYSIS, THEIR ACTIVITIES, STATUS AND STRATEGIES..............................23
3.1HERO HONDA & HONDA MOTORS...................................................................................24
3.2TVS MOTORS....................................................................................................................26
TVS motorcycles product segment includes:........................................................................26
3.3YAMAHA MOTORS...........................................................................................................28
3.4FOREIGN COMPETITORS..................................................................................................30
SECTION – IV.........................................................................................................................33
4.Survey Analysis and Recommendations.............................................................................33
5.CONCLUSION......................................................................................................................37
6.REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................38
4
5. SECTION – I
1. HISTORY AND SWOT ANALYSIS OF BAJAJ PULSAR
1.1 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 lion’s 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 it’s 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.
5
6. 1.2 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 company’s 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.
6
7. 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.
1.3 SHIFTING TRENDS TOWARDS MOTORCYCLES
First 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 Motorcycle Moped
Year Total In '000 Overall Growth
No. % No. % No. %
1993 1,503.36 -6.40 709.73 47.2 379.06 25.2 414.57 27.6
1994 1,770.22 17.75 840.17 47.5 472.58 26.7 457.47 25.8
1995 2,209.23 24.80 1,033.52 46.8 652.01 29.5 523.70 23.7
1996 2,660.04 20.41 1,223.43 46.0 809.53 30.4 627.08 23.6
1997 2,963.49 11.41 1,301.05 43.9 978.68 33.0 683.76 23.1
1998 3,042.85 2.68 1,262.70 41.5 1,131.31 37.2 648.84 21.3
1999 3,403.43 11.85 1,325.87 39.0 1,395.66 41.0 681.90 20.0
2000 3,745.55 -0.80 901.88 24.0 2,156.03 58.0 687.64 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.
7
8. 1.4 MARKETING HISTORY
Bajaj 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 youth’s 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 He-
Bike 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
8
9. time earning unparalleled Brand loyalty and exclusivity such as Harley Davidson
& Royal Enfield.
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 Bajaj’s
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.
9
10. 1.5 SWOT MATRIX OF BAJAJ PULSAR
SWOT 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.
10
11. • 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.
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 don’t 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.
11
12. • There is not much of a product differentiation among the various
models of bajaj pulsar as they have similar styling.
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.
12
13. SECTION – II
2. 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.
13
14. 2.1 BUYING ROLES
In the 70’s and 80’s 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.
14
15. Though the model involved industrial buyers, we can take it as a rough
foundation for analyzing the buying roles of consumers.
Let’s do the analysis on the basis of the models or variants in which PULSAR is
available.
2.1.1 150cc
The target customer base of the PULSAR has always been the age group of
20-35. 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 kid’s 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.
15
16. • It brings about a macho image – people feel it heightens their esteems
among the group especially girls.
• Peer influence
• 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.
16
17. • Launch of a new improved version e.g. when the DTSI model was
launched.
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.
2.1.2 180CC
It 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.
17
18. Let us look at the factors influencing the decision making of this group of
customers. They are
• 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.
2.1.3 200cc and 220cc
These 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.
18
19. 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
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... 39.71% (110)
Performance... 48.38% (134)
Mileage.. 5.42% (15)
Resale Value... 1.08% (3)
by Envy... 5.42% (15)
Total Votes: 277
19
20. Who was influential in choosing Bajaj Pulsar?
Your Wife 4.83% (10)
Your Kids 1.45% (3)
Your Girlfriend(s) 23.19% (48)
You Yourself 66.67% (138)
Dealer pushed you very few choices 3.86% (8)
Total Votes: 207
2.2 CONSUMER CENTRIC STEPS BY BAJAJ
Now, 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 it’s 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.
20
21. 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. It’s 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.
21
22. 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.
22
23. SECTION – III
3. 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
23
24. 3.1 HERO HONDA & HONDA MOTORS
Hero 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 Pulsar’s 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.
24
25. 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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26. 3.2 TVS MOTORS
The Indian automotive industry is increasingly getting competitive and the two-
wheeler segment within it is also facing its own share of challenges. As part of
the industry, TVS Motors, the country’s third largest manufacturer of two-
wheelers, 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
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27. • TVS Flame
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
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28. customers with emphasis on superior technology, styling and engine
capabilities.
3.3 YAMAHA MOTORS
Yamaha 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.
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29. 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
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.
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30. 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.
YAMAHA FZ (150CC) & YAMAHA R15 (150CC)
3.4 FOREIGN COMPETITORS
Foreign 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
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31. 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
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 cost-
low mileage bikes (from china etc.). Let’s see how Bajaj might be planning to
counter the twin threats.
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32. Threat 1- High cost-performance segment:
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
buyer’s 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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33. SECTION – IV
4. Survey Analysis and Recommendations
A 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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34. 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
that’s why they are more diverted towards 150cc bikes.
Q4: How much fuel-efficient your bike should be?
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35. 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.
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?
35
36. Advertisements do affect the consumers in consumer’s 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.
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.
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37. 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.
5. CONCLUSION
Putting 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
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 “Pulsar-
mania” 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
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38. 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.
6. REFERENCES
1. 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
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