MEAN STREETS

FROM THE ENTRY-LEVEL TO PREMIUM AND THE NASCENT ELECTRIC BIKE SEGMENTS, FIRMS ARE ENGAGED IN A FIERCE BATTLE, EVEN AS TECHNOLOGY IS OPENING UP NEWER FRONTS. WHO WILL EMERGE VICTORIOUS?

- ASTHA ORIEL

THE SCREEN PARTED. The fog cleared. And Freedom emerged slowly on a pedestal, as a pair of wings was lowered from above to flank it. It was a dramatic event on a pleasant July day in Pune earlier this year. And, no, it was not the declaration of Independence, but the launch of the world’s first CNG (compressed natural gas)-powered motorbike, the Freedom 125, from the stables of Bajaj Auto, India’s third-largest two-wheeler manufacturer.

What was inaugurated that day at Bajaj’s plant at Chakan was the newest theatre of battle in the highly competitive, extremely price-sensitive Indian motorbike market. Here every segment has its own logic and, most often, its own set of competitors. It is a market that is subject to constant churn as newer technologies upend the status quo.

In the ICE (internal combustion engine) segment, a fight rages on as the legacy bike makers slug it out across the entry-level, mass market, and premium segments. In this epic, some of the dramatis personae are household names— like Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor Company, and Royal Enfield—while others— such as electric vehicle start-ups like Ola Electric and Revolt Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra with Classic Legends—strive to steal the spotlight.

All this effort has but one aim: to come out on top in the bike market, which industry insiders peg at 900,000 units every month and believe is the biggest in the world. The victors will not just gain fame and glory, but, ultimately, profits, and lots at that.

THE CNG SPARK