After capturing close to 20 percent market share in the Indian two-wheeler industry, Bajaj Auto is now focusing on the commuter segment that is currently led by Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycles. The company's cheapest offering, the Platina 100, however has good demand but its sales numbers are gradually dropping due to strong demand for Hero Splendor, Hero Passion and Honda's Dream series. Another reason why Bajaj has seen a drop in the sales of Platina is the fact that it hasn't received any major facelift ever since its launch in 2006. That said, the home-grown bikemaker is planning to update the Platina finally.
The company has already started testing the vehicle in India, and is expected to roll it out by early 2015. Rumour has it that the company will have two different versions of the bike this time - the existing 100cc and a slightly more powerful Platina. The more powerful version could be the 125cc Platina that the company discontinued in 2012.
The updated Platina 100 is most likely to retain the existing design, albeit with new graphics, shades and body panels. The company might also tune its engine to offer more fuel efficiency and power. The current model features a 99.27cc, air-cooled engine that mated to a four-speed gearbox churns out 8bhp and 8.05Nm. Other features are expected to remain unchanged.
As mentioned before, Bajaj might also bring back the Platina 125 that shares its engine with the Discover 135M. Though, we think a slightly more feature-rich model with the 100cc engine will make more sense since the Platina is known for its affordability and not power.
