The Indian motorcycle manufacturing industry is staggeringly big, almost beyond comprehension; the industry sells over 18 million motorcycles a year in India alone, never mind what it exports. To put that into context, total annual motorcycle sales in South Africa – let’s say 30,000 of all types – equates to the number of motorcycles and three-wheelers made by Indian manufacturers every few minutes of every day!
What differentiates the Indian motorcycle manufacturers from its Asian counterparts is that they have found a way to match Chinese motorcycle manufacturer’s pricing while building motorcycles to Japanese quality standards; this goes a long way to explaining why Indian-built motorcycles are so popular around the world.
Bajaj is one of those motorcycle manufacturers (among many other diverse products) and it tells you something when a production of over 7 million motorcycles annually puts it fourth on the list of the largest two-and three-wheeler manufacturers in the world!
Bajaj was founded in 1926 by Jamnalal Bajaj and the company is still today run by the Bajaj family. On the motorcycle side, Bajaj is the largest exporter of two- and three-wheeler vehicles to more than 90 countries and South Africa is one of them.
The Indian market being what it is, the vast majority of motorcycles produced are small-displacement models and, in SA, you’ll have come across thousands of them if you use any form of online ordering for food, takeaways and other deliveries. The Bajaj Boxer motorcycle is extremely popular among delivery fleet buyers and the diminutive yellow four-wheeled Qute seen with increasing frequency on the streets of our major cities, provides ultra-cheap and efficient transport as an alternative to Uber (Bolt).
Bajaj South Africa is targeting aggressive growth in the local market, which is timely as money is generally in short supply for many families across the social spectrum. When a practical and reliable workhorse of a motorcycle can be bought for the price of a set of tyres for some cars and costs mere cents to run, all of a sudden, the country can get back on its wheels and be mobile, never mind the number of small businesses that can benefit from such transport.
Bajaj South Africa has configured the vehicles it imports specifically for the SA market and riding conditions and, with millions of Bajaj Boxers produced every year, there has been ample time to detect and rectify any issues – either current or potential – so that what you are buying is very likely as good as a motorcycle can get in terms of reliability and longevity if looked after.
Naturally, Bajaj South Africa carries a full stock of all spares so that vehicles can be quickly repaired and got back onto the road, limiting the financial penalties.
Listening to the presentation at the recent dealer conference, it was clear that Bajaj is a brand that will reward careful observation in the South African small motorcycle and general urban transport market, because its local ambition is very high and the product is generally excellent.
For more information visit: www.bajajsouthafrica.co.za
