Bajaj Auto


Bajaj Auto Limited is an Indian global two-wheeler company and three-wheeler manufacturing company based in Pune, Maharashtra. It manufactures motorcycles, scooters and auto rickshaws. Bajaj Auto is a part of the Bajaj Group. It was founded by Jamnalal Bajaj in Rajasthan in the 1940s. It is based in Pune, Maharashtra, with plants in Chakan, Waluj and Pantnagar in Uttarakhand. The oldest plant at Akurdi now houses the R&D centre 'Ahead'.
Bajaj Auto is the world's third-largest manufacturer of motorcycles and the second-largest in India. It is the world's largest three-wheeler manufacturer.
On May 2015, its market capitalisation was ₹64,000 crore, making it India's 23rd largest publicly traded company by market value. The Forbes Global 2000 list for the year 2012 ranked Bajaj Auto at 1,416.

History

Bajaj Auto was established on 29 November 1945 as M/s Bachraj Trading Corporation Private Limited. It initially imported and sold two- and three-wheelers in India. In 1959, it obtained a license from the Government of India to manufacture two-wheelers and three-wheelers and obtained Licence from Piaggio to manufacture Vespa Brand Scooters in India. It became a public limited company in 1960.
With the launch of motorcycles in 1986, the company changed its branding from a scooter manufacturer to a two-wheeler manufacturer.
In 2017, Bajaj Auto and Triumph Motorcycles Ltd teamed up to build mid-capacity motorcycles.
As of 2008, Bajaj had operations in 50 countries, and its bikes are targeted toward entry-level buyers.
On 26 November 2019, Bajaj Auto invested $8 million in bicycle and electric scooter rental startup Yulu. In this deal, Bajaj will also manufacture customised electric scooters for Yulu.

Products

Bajaj manufactures and sells motorcycles, scooters, auto-rickshaws and cars. As of 2004, Bajaj Auto was India's largest exporter of motorcycles.
Bajaj is the first Indian two-wheeler manufacturer to deliver 4-stroke commuter motorcycles with sporty performance for the Indian market. Bajaj achieved this with the 150cc and 180cc Pulsar.
Motorcycles produced by Bajaj include the Platina, Discover, Pulsar, Avenger, Dominar 400 and CT 100.
In FY 2012–13, it sold approximately 37.6 lakh motorcycles which accounted for 31% of the market share in India. Of these, approximately 24.6 lakh motorcycles were sold in India and remaining 34% were exported.

Auto rickshaw (three wheeler)

Bajaj is the world's largest manufacturer of auto rickshaws and accounts for almost 84% of India's three-wheeler exports. During the FY 2012–13, it sold approx. 4,80,000 three-wheelers which was 57% of the total market share in India. Out of these 4,80,000 three-wheelers, 53% were exported and remaining 47% were sold in India. In Indonesia, Bajaj three-wheelers are "iconic" and "ubiquitous" to the point that the word bajaj is used to refer to auto rickshaws of any kind.

Low cost cars

In 2010, Bajaj Auto announced cooperation with Renault and Nissan Motor to develop a US$2,500 car, aiming at a fuel efficiency of , or twice an average small car, and carbon dioxide emissions of 100 g/km.
On 3 January 2012, Bajaj auto unveiled the Bajaj Qute, a mini car for intra-city urban transportation, which is legally classified as a quadricycle. The target customer group was Bajaj's three-wheeler customers. According to its Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj, the RE60 powered by a new 200 cc rear mounted petrol engine will have a top speed of, a mileage of and carbon dioxide emissions of 60 g/km.

Acquisitions

Bajaj Auto bought a controlling stake in the Tempo Firodia company, renaming it "Bajaj Tempo". Germany's Daimler-Benz owned 16% of Bajaj Tempo, but Daimler sold their stake back to the Firodia group in 2001. It was agreed that Bajaj Tempo would gradually phase out the use of the "Tempo" brand name, as it still belonged to Mercedes-Benz. The name of the company was changed to Force Motors in 2005, dropping "Bajaj" as well as "Tempo", over the objections of Bajaj Auto with whom the company shares a long history as well as a compound wall.

Demerger in 2008

The demerger of Bajaj Auto Ltd into three corporate entities — Bajaj Finserv Limited, Bajaj Auto Ltd, and Bajaj Holdings and Investment Ltd —was completed with the shares listing on 26 May 2008.

Bajaj-Kawasaki end partnership in 2017

In 2017, Bajaj and Kawasaki ended their 8-year sales & services partnership in India, for the sale and after sales service of Kawasaki motorcycles, which had been established in 2009. These Probiking dealerships were later converted to KTM dealerships. However Bajaj and Kawasaki continue with their relationship in the rest of the world.
Bajaj Auto Ltd. made a technical assistance agreement with Kawasaki Japan in 1984, and since then it had cooperated to expand production and sales of motorcycles in India.

Listing and shareholding

Listing

Bajaj Auto's equity shares are listed on Bombay Stock Exchange where it is a constituent of the BSE SENSEX index, and the National Stock Exchange of India where it is a constituent of the CNX Nifty.

Shareholding

On 30 Sep 2015, 49.29% of the equity shares of the company were owned by the promoters Bajaj Group and the remaining were owned by others.
Shareholders Shareholding %
Promoters: Bajaj Group49.29%
Mutual funds, FIs and insurance companies08.13%
Foreign institutional investors14.25%
Individual shareholders15.12%
Bodies corporate08.25%
Foreign portfolio investments corporations03.51%
GDRs00.02%
Others01.43%
Total100.0%

As of March 31, 2020, there were 100 funds that had disclosed positions in the company, including funds by The Vanguard Group, Dimensional Fund Advisors and Fidelity Investments.

Employees

Bajaj Auto had a total of 10,000 employees as of 2019, of which 51 were women and 25 were differently-abled. It spent on employee benefit expenses during the FY 2012–13. The company is headed by Rahul Bajaj, whose net worth was around US$2 billion in March 2013.

Awards and recognitions