Kawasaki and Bajaj have decided to amicably end their eight-year long alliance to provide sales and after sales to Kawasaki bikes in India from 1 April 2017. With effect from that date, Kawasaki motorcycles will be sold and after sales service, including that for past customers, will be provided by India Kawasaki Motors Pvt Ltd, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Japan. Bajaj Auto has had an alliance with Kawasaki for the sale and service of Kawasaki motorcycles through its Probiking network since 2009.
In a statement, Amit Nandi, President, Probiking, said, "We have progressively converted our Probiking network to be KTM dealerships. Going forward, Bajaj intends to focus on the KTM brand." Bajaj and Kawasaki will continue to maintain their co-operative relationship across the rest of the world for current and future businesses, the statement added.
(Kawasaki-Bajaj KB100)
Kawasaki and Bajaj have had a partnership going back decades, when the first Kawasaki bikes were introduced in India in the 1980s through this alliance. During that time, the Indian two wheeler industry went through a complete overhaul with the first Indo-Jap partnerships like TVS-Suzuki, Escorts-Yamaha and Hero-Honda. These partnerships introduced a whole series of 'modern' motorcycles and laid the foundation of the Indian motorcycle industry as we know it today.
The two-stroke Kawasaki-Bajaj KB100 was the first motorcycle introduced in the Indian market under the Kawasaki-Bajaj name. Production began in 1986-87 and went on until 1996 when the Kawasaki-Bajaj KB125 with an all-aluminium engine was launched. The KB100 (and the KB100 RTZ) was one of the first bikes to come with a tachometer, fuel gauge and engine kill switch.
(2017 KTM 200 Duke)
In comparison, the Bajaj-KTM partnership is more recent. The joint venture launched its first co-developed product, the KTM 200 Duke in 2012. Over the last five years, KTM achieved a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 48 per cent and overall sales volume in FY2017 is estimated at 37,000 units. Now, KTM's five models in India, under the Duke and RC range are being offered through the 300+ KTM dealerships in India. The five models - the KTM 200 Duke, KTM 250 Duke, KTM 390 Duke, KTM RC 200 and KTM RC 390 - are made by the KTM-Bajaj joint venture at the Bajaj factory in Chakan. The plant also manufacturers the KTM 125 Duke, which is only for export markets.
Austrian motorcycle manufacturer KTM was going through a financial crisis when Bajaj acquired 14 per cent stake in 2007. That association and the consequent manufacture of small displacement KTM bikes in India, helped KTM become Europe's second largest motorcycle manufacturer. Over the next five years, Bajaj increased its stake in KTM to 48 per cent through its subsidiary, Bajaj Auto International Holdings BV. That partnership has also helped Bajaj gain an influence in markets such as US, Europe, Canada, Japan and Australia as it ships the "made in India" KTM bikes.
