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Bajaj Auto Limited () is an Indian multinational automotive manufacturing company based in
Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...
. It manufactures
motorcycles A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising, ...
, scooters and
auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...
s. Bajaj Auto is a part of the
Bajaj Group Bajaj Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate founded by Jamnalal Bajaj in Mumbai in 1926. The group comprises 40 companies and its flagship company Bajaj Auto is ranked as the world's fourth largest two- and three-wheeler manufacturer. ...
. It was founded by
Jamnalal Bajaj Jamnalal Kaniram Bajaj (4 November 1889 – 11 February 1942) was an Indian industrialist. He founded the Bajaj Group of companies in the 1920s, and the group now has 24 companies, including six that are listed on the bourses. He was also a c ...
(1889–1942) in
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
in the 1940s. 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. In December 2020, Bajaj Auto crossed a market capitalisation of , making it the world's most valuable two-wheeler company.


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 The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...
to manufacture two-wheelers and three-wheelers and obtained Licence from
Piaggio Piaggio & C. SpA (Piaggio ) is an Italian motor vehicle manufacturer, which produces a range of two-wheeled motor vehicles and compact commercial vehicles under seven brands: Piaggio, Vespa, Gilera, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Derbi, and Scarabeo. Its ...
to manufacture
Vespa Vespa () is an Italian luxury brand of scooter (motorcycle), scooters and mopeds manufactured by Piaggio. The name means wasp in Italian. The Vespa has evolved from a single model motor scooter manufactured in 1946 by Piaggio & Co. S.p.A. of ...
Brand Scooters in India. It became a
public limited company A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth jurisdictions, and the Republic of Ireland. It is a limited liability 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 1984, Bajaj Auto signed a technical assistance agreement with Kawasaki, cooperating to expand production and sales of motorcycles in the local market. In the early 2000s, Bajaj Auto bought a controlling stake in the Tempo Firodia company, renaming it "Bajaj Tempo". Germany's
Daimler-Benz The Mercedes-Benz Group Aktiengesellschaft, AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German Multinational corporation, multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It ...
owned 16% of Bajaj Tempo, but Daimler sold their stake back to the Firodia group. 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. In 2007, Bajaj Auto, through its Dutch subsidiary Bajaj Auto International Holding BV, purchased a 14.5% stake of Austrian rival
KTM KTM AG (Kraftfahrzeug Trunkenpolz Mattighofen, formerly KTM Sportmotorcycle AG) is an Austrian motorcycle, bicycle and sports car manufacturer owned by Pierer Mobility AG and the Indian manufacturer Bajaj Auto. It was formed in 1992 but traces ...
, gradually increasing its stake to a 48% non-controlling share by 2020. In December 2020, Bajaj started discussions on swapping its stake from KTM to KTM's controlling shareholder Pierer Mobility, a subsidiary of Pierer Industrie. On 26 May 2008, Bajaj Auto Limited was split off into three corporate entities — Bajaj Finserv Limited (BFL), Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAL), and Bajaj Holdings and Investment Ltd (BHIL). In 2017, Bajaj Auto and
Triumph Motorcycles Ltd Triumph Motorcycles Ltd is the largest UK-owned motorcycle manufacturer, established in 1983 by John Bloor after the original company Triumph Engineering went into receivership. The new company, initially called Bonneville Coventry Ltd, contin ...
teamed up to build mid-capacity motorcycles. In 2017, Bajaj and Kawasaki ended a sales and services partnership in India for the sale and after-sales service of
Kawasaki motorcycles Kawasaki motorcycles are manufactured by the Motorcycle & Engine division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. History Kawasaki Aircraft initially manufactured motorcycles under the Meguro name, having bought an ailing motorcycle manufacturer, Megu ...
, which had been established in 2009. The partnership's dealerships were later converted into KTM ones. Bajaj and Kawasaki continue with their relationship in overseas markets. On 26 November 2019, Bajaj Auto invested about ₹57
crore A crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes ten million (10,000,000 or 107 in scientific notation) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. It is written as 1,00,00,000 with the local 2,2,3 style of digit group separators (one lakh is e ...
($8 million) in bicycle and electric scooter rental startup Yulu. In this deal, Bajaj would also manufacture customised
electric scooters Electric motorcycles and scooters are plug-in electric vehicles with two or three wheels. Power is supplied by a rechargeable battery which drives one or more electric motors. Electric scooters are distinguished from motorcycles by having a ...
for Yulu.


Manufacturing

The company has plants in Chakan, Waluj and
Pantnagar Pantnagar is a town and a university campus in Udham Singh Nagar district, Uttarakhand. Nainital, Kashipur, Rudrapur and Kiccha, Haldwani are the major cities surrounding Pantnagar. The town is home to the first agricultural university of I ...
. The oldest plant at Akurdi in Pune houses the R&D centre 'Ahead'.


Products

Bajaj manufactures and sells
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
s, 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 CT 100
Platina Platina is a municipality ''( município)'' in the state of São Paulo in Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and ...
,
Discover Discover may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album * ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine Businesses and brands * DISCover, the ''Digital Interactive Systems Corporation'' * D ...
,
Pulsar A pulsar (from ''pulsating radio source'') is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its magnetic poles. This radiation can be observed only when a beam of emission is pointing toward Ea ...
,
Avenger Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...
,and Dominar. In FY 2012–13, it sold approximately 37.6
lakh A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2,2,3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. For ex ...
(3.76 million) motorcycles which accounted for 31% of the market share in India. Of these, approximately 24.6 lakh (2.46 million) motorcycles (66%) were sold in India, and the remaining 34% were exported.


Auto rickshaw (three wheeler)

Bajaj is the world's largest manufacturer of
auto rickshaws An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...
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, 47% were sold in the country and 53% were exported. In Indonesia, Bajaj three-wheelers are described as "iconic" and "ubiquitous" to the point that the word ''bajaj'' (pronounced ''bajay'') is used to refer to auto rickshaws of any kind.


Low cost cars

In 2010, Bajaj Auto announced cooperation with
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
and
Nissan Motor , trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun brands, ...
to develop a US$2,500 car, aiming at a
fuel efficiency Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the ratio of effort to result of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier (fuel) into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, wh ...
of (3.3 L/100 km), or twice an average small car, and
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...
emissions of 100 g/km. On 3 January 2012, Bajaj auto unveiled the Bajaj Qute (formerly ''Bajaj RE60''), a mini car for intra-city urban transportation, which is legally classified as a
quadricycle Quadricycle refers to vehicles with four wheels. In 1896 Henry Ford named his first vehicle design the "Quadricycle". it ran on four bicycle wheels, with an engine driving the back wheels.Brinkley, David, ''Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His ...
. 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.


Electric scooters

Bajaj launched its first electric scooter, the Chetak, in India in January 2020. In December 2021, Bajaj announced an investment of 300 crore to build an electric vehicle production facility in Pune. According to the company, the plant would be able to produce 5,00,000 electric vehicles (EVs) each year, catering to both domestic and international markets.


Listing and shareholding


Listing

Bajaj Auto's equity shares are listed on
Bombay Stock Exchange BSE Limited, also known as the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), is an Indian stock exchange. It is located on Dalal Street in Mumbai. Established in 1875 by cotton merchant Premchand Roychand, a Jain businessman, it is the oldest stock exchange in ...
where it is a constituent of the
BSE SENSEX The BSE SENSEX (also known as the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index or simply SENSEX) is a free-float market-weighted stock market index of 30 well-established and financially sound companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The 30 ...
index, and the
National Stock Exchange of India National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) is the leading stock exchange under the ownership of various group of domestic and global financial institutions, public and privately owned entities and individuals. It is located in Mumbai, Mah ...
where it is a constituent of the
CNX Nifty The NIFTY 50 is a benchmark Indian stock market index that represents the weighted average of 50 of the largest Indian companies listed on the National Stock Exchange. It is one of the two main stock indices used in India, the other being th ...
.


Shareholding

On 30 September 2015, 49.29% of the equity shares of the company were owned by the promoters Bajaj Group and the remaining were owned by others. As of 31 March 2020, there were 100 funds that had disclosed positions in the company, including funds by
The Vanguard Group The Vanguard Group, Inc. is an American registered investment advisor based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, with about $7 trillion in global assets under management, as of January 13, 2021. It is the largest provider of mutual funds and the second-lar ...
,
Dimensional Fund Advisors Dimensional Fund Advisors, L.P. (branded Dimensional abbreviated DFA) is a private investment firm headquartered in Austin, Texas. Dimensional was founded in Chicago in 1981 by David Booth, Rex Sinquefield and Larry Klotz. The company has affili ...
and
Fidelity Investments Fidelity Investments, commonly referred to as Fidelity, earlier as Fidelity Management & Research or FMR, is an American multinational financial services corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in 1946 and is on ...
.


Employees

Bajaj Auto had a total of 10,000 employees as of 2019, of which 51 were women (0.63%) and 25 were differently-abled (0.31%). It spent on employee benefit expenses during the FY 2012–13. The company was headed by
Rahul Bajaj Rahul is a popular male name in India and has a variety of meanings. The earliest meaning found in the Upanishads is "conqueror of all miseries." Later use of the word is attributed to the Buddha, who named his son '' Rahula'' as he felt that fa ...
until 2005 whose net worth was around US$2 billion in March 2013. Currently, his son Rajiv Bajaj heads company.


Awards and recognitions

*
Bajaj Pulsar The Bajaj Pulsar is a range of motorcycles manufactured by Bajaj Auto in India. It was developed by the product engineering division of Bajaj Auto in association with Tokyo R&D,BBC TopGear and Bike India. * Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi received the Bike of the Year 2008 award by all major Indian automobile magazines like
Overdrive Overdrive may refer to: Organizations * OverDrive, Inc., a digital distributor of entertainment media ** OverDrive Media Console, a media player developed by OverDrive, Inc. * Overdrive PC, a subsidiary of Velocity Micro Technology * Overdrive ...
, Autocar, Business Standard Motoring and Bike Top Gear. * In 2006, Bajaj Auto won the Frost & Sullivan Super Platinum Award for manufacturing excellence in its Chakan Plant. * It received award for The Most Customer Responsive Company in Automobiles category in a survey conducted by Economic Times for the years 2004, 2006 and 2008. * Bajaj Auto received the Bike Maker of the Year award in ICICI Bank Overdrive Awards 2004. * Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTS-i won the BBC World Wheels Viewers Choice Two Wheeler of the Year 2003 award. *The
Forbes Global 2000 The ''Forbes'' Global 2000 is an annual ranking of the top 2000 public companies in the world, published by ''Forbes'' magazine. "The Global 2000" annual ranking is assembled by ''Forbes'' using a weighted assessment of four metrics: sales, profi ...
list for the year 2012 ranked Bajaj Auto at 1,416.


See also

* Bajaj Lite * Energy Conversion Devices, Inc *
List of motorcycle manufacturers The following is a list of motorcycle manufacturers worldwide, sorted by extant/extinct status and by country. These are producers whose motorcycles are available to the public, including both street legal as well as racetrack-only or off-road-o ...
*
List of motor scooter manufacturers and brands Note there is no single fixed definition of a scooter (also known by the full name motor-scooter), but generally a smaller motorcycle with a step-through frame is considered a scooter, especially if it has a floor for the rider's feet (as oppos ...


References


External links

* {{Automotive industry in India Bajaj Group Motorcycle manufacturers of India Scooter manufacturers Indian brands Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1945 BSE SENSEX NIFTY 50 Indian companies established in 1945 Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange