When Rahul Bajaj would sit and look back, his decision to exit from the 100cc segment would go down as one of the most immature decisions. It was Bajaj’s exit for two years which allowed, the market leaders, Hero Honda, to increase their share from 48 percent to 64 percent in August 2009. But when Rahul Bajaj sits and look back again, reentering the 100cc segment would be one of the wisest decisions he would have made in the last decade. And the results have started pouring in thick and fast! Within a very short span of time after its launch in August 2009, Discover has grown rapidly to become the third largest selling brand in the industry.
Hero Honda is the current leader in 100cc market which had a share of 69 percent earlier. But after the launch and settling of Bajaj’s 100cc warhorse Discover, Hero Honda’s share has fallen to 64 percent. These figures do not make much of a difference when looked at with a casual eye, but if we are told that Bajaj’s 100cc market grew by 6 percent to 23 percent during the same time, our eyes remain wide open. As they say it, one man’s loss is another’s gain; Hero Honda lost some ground which was snatched by Bajaj.
With the ever burgeoning 100cc market, there are immense opportunities for manufacturers to tab. And when all the manufacturers are increasing prices which goes along with a possible big fuel price increase, 100cc segment looks hot favorite to come out champion. These figures are not yet discomforting for Hero Honda as of now, but with all manufacturers which include TVS, Yamaha and Mahindra, running after Hero Honda’s pie, it might become a daunting task for the leaders to maintain the lead. And with the launch of Twister in the similar segment by the sister concern, Honda Motorcycle & Scooters India, Hero Honda might further face the heat.
- Saad Khan
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
those who bought discover will surely go for hero honda or other brand but not bajaj.and i am one of those.
Sooner in couple of months HH is going to lost the 1 spot to Bajaj
Its not just because of Bajaj’s hard work. The main factor is HH is a lazy guy who failed to upgrade his weapons(bikes) in his arsenal. Now its too late as all others(TVS, honda, suzuki, yamaha) are bringing new bikes that ill make neck to neck race
That’s good for the consumers better product at reasonable price
Herohonda .. is the uncrowned king of 100 cc bikes .. if u ask a lay man ..wat bike u needed he immediately tell splendor or passion … still if u ask town mechanics and villagers .. they surely recommend splendor …….
it is diffcult to dethrone them…….
HH losing no.1 spot is a long shot.. Bajaj still has lot of ground to cover in 100cc.. they need another success like Discover to make HH think seriously. As of now.. there is atleast 1 lakh units per month difference between these HH and Bajaj.
pathetic hero honda fanboys sandy & gnatius……………face the hard thruth u nErds
I would agree with ignatius. HH has that quality aspect that no one can touch. Even now, the bikes with highest resale value are HH bikes only.
This is becoz, HH has high quality spares backed-up by a quality service personnel.
And, sorry about sandy’s current predicament. People would now understand, after hearing this statement, that the bike’s cost or CC value or Mileage figure is not just the deciding factor. There are also things such as quality, power distribution, long-term durability, service satisfaction, smooth ride and handling.
Bajaj has definitely won several million of our hearts with its innovation, designing and competitive pricing. But a lot has been left aside for our satisfaction, such as after-sales service, quality of parts and ‘aging’ factor of the bike.
And, if you ask anyone who owned a K-Bajaj bike, they would say that the good old days of Kawasaki-Bajaj partnership would have been better.
Today I saw an Yamaha YBX 110cc in a Showroom display and I have to admit the Discover looks much better, or its the best looking 100cc bike in India. Great Going!
Agree with TerrorBiker
We cant say HH guys lazy, but they are uninnovative. HH based on tech support by Honda. HH minus Honda is nonsense.
Bajaj have comparitively more R&D efforts.
Now honda india itself have 100% subsidery, so they want more marketshare. Real threat to HH is not by Bajajbut from own partner Honda.
(BTW, How many Indo Japanese partnership made in mid80 and 90s are still running?)
If not today, then surely tomarrow, Honda will break up his indian marriage. So its now unevitable for Hero to not just rely on Honda engines, but do some own efforts. Please, Please, Please.
Currently, herohonda is using honda engines and technology from honda, so herohonda pays a royality of 1.5% to 2% per each bike sold to honda. From 2014 onwards, Herohonda will not be allowed to use Honda engine in its bikes. Or, if they renew the agreement with Honda, they will have to pay higher royality per bike to honda. But this is if only Honda agrees to support them. If honda dont support, herohonda will have to use their own engines in their bikes.
Of course, herohonda will continue to sell splendor bikes with its own engines and many ignorant people will still buy it, because herohonda market is mainly in rural areas. Rural people have no traffic issues and dont consider self-start and disc brake as necessity, so herohonda is able to sell bikes to them without even selfstart.
But the real competition starts in 2014. Herohonda will have to develop its own R&D now, but TVS and bajaj have already developed better R&D capability than herohonda at least 6-7 years ago.
discover is a bike for urdan areas where people have to travel a lot on daily bases…………..so need good mileage………………….however they also want a stylish bike ……………….hh fails to match these two at the same time……………hh bikes look like they have not changed a bit since 2001………..dude its ten years…………hero honda mainly hoald grip in rural areas and people above 35…….but discover offer u best if u are a student or a young and want a good fuel effecient bike which had proved it self ………from the manufacture of biggest hit ………………..pulsar ………………at last discover and hh have two diffrent buyers………so stop arguing bt them…………………..