Success Stories
Bajaj: Riding into glory
From riding the Chetak scooter to zipping past the Pulsar 220CC, it has been an evolution for Bajaj Auto. India's second largest two-wheeler maker's origin is rooted in Bachchraj Trading Corporation, first set up to trade in a few 2 and 3-wheelers. Founded by Jamnalal Bajaj, who associated closely with Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle, the Bajajs' have seen real growth starting from the sixties. Though Bajaj started off as dealers in imported 2 and 3-wheelers, it was only in 1960, that it started manufacturing, having obtained the precious manufacturing licence from the government. In mid-sixties, current Chairman Rahul Bajaj took over the reins as the CEO, but the eighties are still seen as the best years for Bajaj. "The decade of the 80s was the greatest decade for Bajaj Auto. We did well in the 70s, but 70s was a disaster for Indian industry. It was the height of misguided socialism. No technology was allowed to come," reminisces Bajaj. Interestingly, during the 80s, Bajaj Auto's production jumped 8 fold to touch 8 lakh units! In the 80s, the company also touched the magic figure of Rs 100 crore, which was in 1980-81. But the rapid expansion saw a cooling off in the 90s. Volumes grew by only about 78%, partly because the scooter king was faced with consumer preference shifing from scooters to bikes. Bajaj had no presence in bikes and had to forge an alliance with Japanese major Kawasaki to get a jumpstart in the motorcycle business in 1986. That was not good enough to fight the new rivals - the Munjals with the Hero Honda joint venture. As a result of the Kawasaki partnerships, Bajaj succeeded where LML and Kinetic had failed. That success called for a crucial makeover time for the Bajaj management. The next generation Rajiv Bajaj and Sanjiv Bajaj were inducted into the company in the early nineties. The young energy of the two brothers backed by an equally energetic research team helped Bajaj Auto roll out a winner in this
From riding the Chetak scooter to zipping past the Pulsar 220CC, it has been an evolution for Bajaj Auto. India's second largest two-wheeler maker's origin is rooted in Bachchraj Trading Corporation, first set up to trade in a few 2 and 3-wheelers. Founded by Jamnalal Bajaj, who associated closely with Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle, the Bajajs' have seen real growth starting from the sixties. Though Bajaj started off as dealers in imported 2 and 3-wheelers, it was only in 1960, that it started manufacturing, having obtained the precious manufacturing licence from the government. In mid-sixties, current Chairman Rahul Bajaj took over the reins as the CEO, but the eighties are still seen as the best years for Bajaj. "The decade of the 80s was the greatest decade for Bajaj Auto. We did well in the 70s, but 70s was a disaster for Indian industry. It was the height of misguided socialism. No technology was allowed to come," reminisces Bajaj. Interestingly, during the 80s, Bajaj Auto's production jumped 8 fold to touch 8 lakh units! In the 80s, the company also touched the magic figure of Rs 100 crore, which was in 1980-81. But the rapid expansion saw a cooling off in the 90s. Volumes grew by only about 78%, partly because the scooter king was faced with consumer preference shifing from scooters to bikes. Bajaj had no presence in bikes and had to forge an alliance with Japanese major Kawasaki to get a jumpstart in the motorcycle business in 1986. That was not good enough to fight the new rivals - the Munjals with the Hero Honda joint venture. As a result of the Kawasaki partnerships, Bajaj succeeded where LML and Kinetic had failed. That success called for a crucial makeover time for the Bajaj management. The next generation Rajiv Bajaj and Sanjiv Bajaj were inducted into the company in the early nineties. The young energy of the two brothers backed by an equally energetic research team helped Bajaj Auto roll out a winner in this