Bajaj expects overseas markets to bring in 70% of sales

Bajaj Auto, India’s secondlargest motorcycle maker, plans to win 70% sales from overseas markets, challenging Honda Motor in Latin America, Asia and Africa. “It will take us several years, but it only shows how much headroom there is for Bajaj even if we only focus on motorcycles,” managing director Rajiv Bajaj said Bajaj earned about 30% of sales overseas last year. The motorcycle-maker also aims to roughly triple global market share to 30%, either using partnerships with KTM Power Sports AG and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, or building new networks to win market share from Honda and Chinese rivals. Indian companies, including Bajaj Auto and Bharti Airtel are expanding in countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and Nigeria as economic growth boosts demand for products from motorcycles to m o b i l e services. “It will be easy for Bajaj to c o m p e t e with Chinese products in overseas markets,” said Umesh Karne, a Mumbai-based analyst at Brics Securities. “The challenge will be to compete with Honda, which has a bigger brand and wider distribution networks around the world.” Bajaj Auto, the best performing stock in the MSCI India Index this year, declined 1.2% to Rs 2,409.65 in Mumbai on Wednesday. Bajaj Auto, which sold a record 2.8 million vehicles in the year ended March 31, 2010 is targeting sales of five million by 2012, according to the company’s vision statement. The company makes Pulsar and Discover motorcycles as well as three-wheelers. Honda sold 9.63 million motorcycles last year, including sales at Hero Honda Motors, India’s largest motorcyclemaker. Honda owns 26% of Hero Honda.