Posts Tagged ‘platina’

New Bajaj Platina 125cc – Old wine in new bottle

Wednesday, March 10th, 2010

If you thought Bajaj Platina 125cc was no more a bike and was stopped forever, you are just wrong, because Bajaj wouldn’t want to phase out its hit model. So, it has sent the Platina 125cc to its designer studio for some engine tweaks and cosmetic makeover.

Sure it did get a cosmetic as well as adjusted powertrain unit and Bajaj re-launched it into the market during the last week as new Bajaj Platina 125cc. With this re-launch Bajaj expects to reinforce its presence in the entry level bike segment.

So what’s new with the new Platina?
The new Bajaj Platina 125cc has come out with appealing body graphics and total black styling. The company has trimmed down the kerb weight of Platina by over 3kg. This, according to the company should increase the mileage factor of the bike.

The new Bajaj Platina runs on a 125cc engine which is actually scaled down in terms of power generation; generating a 8.5PS of maximum power at 7000rpm and a 10Nm of peak torque at 4000rpm. The previous version of Platina generated a peak power of 9.5PS and a peak torque of 10.85Nm.

As for other features, the new Platina 125cc comes with a 5-speed gearbox as compared to the 4-speed old Platina version. The modifications make the New Platina 125cc a heavy duty bike. Besides it comes with convenient features such as electric start as a standard and the telescopic Front Suspension and SNS suspension at the rear which makes ride smooth and comfortable.

The full-black styling gives the new Platina a richer look and the company claims it to be the best in its class in terms of style, performance as well as mileage.

Bajaj has aggressively priced the new Platina 125cc at Rs. 36,000 (ex-showroom Delhi) and the company claims that the bike is relaunched with modifications for easy daily commuting and comfort riding on Indian road conditions. The company officials say that the competitive pricing makes the new Platina 125cc a true value-for-money bike.

The 100cc Bajaj Platina which was earlier launched in 2006 was a big hit, and then the 125cc version of Platina was launched in late 2008 and now there is a re-launch of the 125cc Platina. But can the new Platina withstand competition from Hero Honda Stunner? Who would anyway want to buy a 125cc when there are many choices in the 150cc segment? Furthermore, the influx of foreign super bikes also can kickbutt these old warhorses off the roads soon. Bajaj may look at promoting the new Platina 125cc in the rural bike market to edge the competition and reinforce its presence.

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Bajaj Launches 125cc Platina

Thursday, September 25th, 2008

Bajaj Auto on Wednesday launched a new variant of its entry-level motorcycle model Platina with a higher engine displacement powered by its patented Digital Twin Spark – Swirl induction (DTS-Si) technology platform priced at Rs 39,000 (ex-showroom).


The second bike on this engine platform is part of the strategy to catalyse the migration of 100cc customers to superior performing 125cc products, the company said in a statement.

The Platina 125 DTS-Si would be produced at the company’s Waluj plant with an estimated production of 15,000 units in September, it said.

The new bike comes with feature such as electric start, maintenance free battery, auto choke, ride control switch and twin pilot lamps, it added.

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Bajaj to launch ‘Platina 125 DTS-Si’

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Mumbai: Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto today reported a four per cent increase in its two-wheeler sales for August, with the sales touching 176,631 units as against 170,203 reported in august last year.

In a release here, the company said in keeping with its 125cc+ segment focus, Bajaj will commence production of the new Platina 125 DTS-Si Electric Start in September, targetting 10,000 units in the very first month. This was after the successful launch of the new ‘Discover 135 DTS-i’ last month, with 27,091 units sold in the very first month.


By virtue of these introductions and the growing popularity of the 125cc + segment in which it is the leader, Bajaj expects its domestic motorcycle sales to register a double digit growth in the second half of FY-09.

The company said the sale of motorcycles touched 175,274 units, five per cent more than the previous August figure of 167,483.
Exports logged was 71,105 units, up by 26 per cent.
Similarly, commercial vehicle sales are expected to grow in the second half of FY-09 on the back of two new products, one each in the passenger and the goods segments.

The company said the export growth was on plan.
The company said between April and August this year, it saw a six per cent increase in unit sales, which crossed one million. Of this, exports alone were 337,075, 30 per cent higher than the corresponding period’s exports of 259,974 last year.

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Bajaj redraws bike platform strategy

Friday, August 1st, 2008

Bajaj Auto has drawn up a new, aggressive strategy for its motorcycles, which will involve a specific platform approach to generate big numbers.

As part of this effort, it has also decided to launch a 125 cc version of the Platina that will co-exist with its 100 cc sibling.


Managing director of Bajaj Auto, Rajiv Bajaj told  that three distinct platforms would form part of the plan.

The top tier comprises the Discover, Pulsar and Avenger while the XCD represents the mid-platform.

The 100cc range rolls out of the basic platform which includes the Platina as well as export models like the Boxer and CT 100.

“Our plan is in place with the last bike from the XCD platform due to debut in February next year, by which time the three platforms will account for combined sales of 225,000 to 240,000 bikes each month both for the local and international markets,” he said. Put simply, each platform will churn out 75,000 to 80,000 bikes every month as part of a new, uncluttered approach.

According to Bajaj, the company had also altered its 125cc bike strategy from the originally planned XCD Sprint. “We are now prioritising another product that will be out in September, followed by one in November and finally in February to complete the picture for the XCD,” he added.

The strategy for the 125 cc version of the Platina is interesting in this context, especially when Bajaj Auto has maintained that the bike does not represent a brand and is only a product by the end of the day which hardly yields any money. However, its numbers still make it relevant to both suppliers and dealers.

In the price segment it operates in, the 100cc Platina is ahead of models from Hero Honda and TVS with a 44 % market share.

“We had earlier kicked off with the Boxer and CT 100 in this segment but they were easy to imitate and competing models quickly joined the arena. Even when we added interesting features to the Platina, it was only a matter of months before competition followed suit,” Bajaj said.

The company then decided that it was time to do something which would not be imitated so quickly. The solution lay in changing the engine. “An electric start 125cc would positively take two years to imitate quite unlike the past where we saw competing models emerge in six months,” he said.

The engineering done on the XCD platform has resulted in some “terrific costing and high mileage” for a 125cc bike. Taking advantage of that feature, Bajaj Auto has now decided to go in for the Platina 125 which can hold its own in the market and insulates the company from any similar product in a hurry.

“This motorcycle is a premium to the 100cc Platina and will give us more money. It could also help build the bike’s brand and wean 100cc customers gradually away to this better option,” Bajaj said.

He reiterated that the top priority was to defend the company’s leadership in the 125 cc plus segment while constantly upgrading products. This was the rationale for the launch of the sportier Discover 135 DTS-i last week.

“The Pulsar lineups are being upgraded every 18 months and the time has now come for the Discover which has been untouched for two years. The new features make it sharper and more aggressive to fit in with the image of our bikes in this product category. This becomes harmonious with the DTS-i portfolio that stands for sporty, hi-tech bikes,” Bajaj said.

This change in the Discover makes it dearer by Rs 2,500 and the least expensive option at Rs 47,000 (ex-showroom) is still Rs 6,000 costlier than the top-end electric start XCD. “It is in this price gap that we are creating more bikes which will improve profitability and create a stronger brand,” he added.

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