Bajaj is planning to expand the Pulsar lineup with new 250cc and 400cc iterations of the motorcycle brand
Bajaj Pulsar is widely credited for kickstarting the sporty commuter range of motorcycles in India two decades back. Over the years this sub-brand of Bajaj Auto has evolved leaps and bounds which has resulted in a strong consumer base across the country. Despite this, the Pulsar brand had to witness a sharp fall in sales last month which can be mostly attributed to the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic.
Due to lockdowns and restrictions imposed across most parts of the country, auto sales took a massive hit which is reflected in the numbers generated by Pulsar. Both domestic and export figures have taken a massive hit last month. The sales volume of Pulsar bikes reflects the same.
Big Drop in Domestic Sales
In the domestic market, Bajaj sold a total of 39,625 units of Pulsar branded motorcycles in May in comparison to 66,586 units in April this year. This resulted in a decline of MoM figures by 40.49 percent. The range was spearheaded by the entry-level 125cc bikes which registered 28,636 units of sales last month in comparison to 35,891 units in April. This translates to MoM degrowth of 20.21 percent. Bajaj sells two iterations of 125cc Pulsars- Neon 125 and the recently launched NS 125.
The Pulsar 150 generated a sales figure of 8,638 units last month as opposed to 21,100 units sold in April this year. This resulted in an MoM drop of 59.06 percent. The combined sales volume of 160cc, 180cc and 200cc iterations of Pulsar in May this year stood at 1,325 units as compared to 5,681 units sold previous month. This translated to a massive decline in MoM figures by 76.68 percent.
In this category, Bajaj retails Pulsar 160, Pulsar 180, Pulsar NS200 and Pulsar RS200. The Chakan-based bikemaker sold 1026 units of its flagship Pulsar 220F. In April, Bajaj retailed 1,026 units of the faired motorcycle which resulted in an MoM decline of 73.79 percent.
Exports Not Great Either
Exports figures also weren’t encouraging enough. Bajaj shipped a total of 30,185 units of Pulsar bikes in May as compared to 42,357 motorcycles exported in April this year. This translates to an MoM degrowth of 29.04 percent.
The category of 160cc, 180cc and 200cc Pulsar bikes headed the exports with 14,361 units combined dispatched overseas. With 21,703 units of this category exported abroad in April, an MoM decline of 33.83 percent was recorded.
Pulsar 150 registered exports of 10,968 units in May this year instead of 14,190 units exported in April which resulted in an MoM decline of 22.71 percent. The entry-level Pulsar 125 was the only category that witnessed a positive MoM growth of 6.73 percent after it registered sales of 4,496 units last month. In April, the sales figures stood at 4,212 units. The flagship 220F recorded 360 units of exports resulting in a massive drop of MoM by 85.20 percent.
