Bajaj scooters, one of the aspirations of the Indian middle class for decades, will soon be part of history. Bajaj Auto announced on Wednesday that it is exiting the scooter segment altogether, bringing the curtains down on its iconic product line. The company had stopped making the Chetak, once the world’s largest selling scooter, almost three years ago, and according to its MD Rajeev Bajaj, it will stop production of its non-starter Kristal series by end of the current fiscal. Rajiv Bajaj, great-grandson of a man who founded his industrial empire making light bulbs, announced the decision to stop producing scooters at the same time China said its people were buying a million cars a month. Indians bought 133,687 cars in November. With China opening its lead over the US as the world’s biggest market, the centre of gravity in the automobile industry has decidedly moved to Asia. The scooter is an unfortunate casualty of this shift. It is no coincidence that the largest manufacturers of scooters — and bicycles — have at different points in time been Indian companies. The rest of the world had simply stopped using them on a grand scale.
Post-independence era for India started with cycles thronging the road alongwith Ambassadors for the VIP movement. People who have seen the decades of 70’s and mid 80’s will have abiding memories of a family perched precariously on a scooter and that scooter would been 9 out of 10 times a Bajaj. There was a time when Chetak commanded premium in the market and after booking, people used to wait for months to get the scooter. Infact many elders have told me that the Bajaj Scooter was one of those things which had to be a part of dowry in those days. People had amazing trust on the Bajaj brand.In the mid 90’s Bajaj came up with an ad campaign titled ‘Hamara Bajaj’ which eventually became a kind of anthem and the sale of Bajaj Scooters roared. In 1995 Bajaj sold close to 1 million scooters.
Earlier logo of Bajaj
As a mode of transportation, shopkeepers, SME owners ferried and marketed their goods on Bajaj scooter. Bikes are incapable to perform such onerous tasks of carrying goods. Bajaj ruled the roost with the carriages and boxes can be piled on any side of this scooter, front, back, side, between the legs. At times, the driver would be seen driving with his leg dangling in the air, folded and piled on top of the box, stretching the leg on top of the boxes with the little space to apply brakes on the right side. It was a truly Indian scooter designed for use for an Indian family unlike Vespa or Lambretta. Bajaj had a carriage in the front, storage side on the left rear, a stepny on the back for holding the family onto the scooter.
If I may say so, I have witnesses the most interesting time period in lifecycle of Bajaj scooters. While I was growing up, all the kids with cycles always looked for a chance to get their first hang of how a automobile work. I am quite sure that many of us have learnt to ride two wheelers on Bajaj. Getting to ride
the scooter was the elevation every kid with cycle was looking for. All those boys who had got the promotion from cycle to scooter were the ‘Guys’ whom girls will pay attention( though scant I must say, school girls were still very shy in those days). And guys like me who were still on their Hero Ranger cycles
will be just left fuming. I am pretty sure that many of us would have gone through these scenes.There was a time, when your scooter becomes a car. You don’t even remember how many times only you or two had taken ride on it. At least three or at times four. You approach your first love with Bajaj scooter by your side. Standing at the other end of the narrow bylane of the girl’s house and waiting for the girl you wish to propose or your girlfriend, only Bajaj scooter was the partner in so many’s tryst of destiny.
Besides making love stories successful, Bajaj helped and contributed immensely towards building homes. It helped people move across their daily needs on this scooter. Carrying and dropping their loved ones from one part to other part of the city. Driving Bajaj was fun and everybody who owned a scooter had a smile on his/her face.
Riding with the family on scooter. Man, wife and their two/three kids.
Cut to 1991 Indian economy opens it’s door to liberalization and urban India started witnessing a more robust and a flashy two wheeler ‘Motorbike’ on it’s roads. Within a couple of years the Hero Hondas, the Kawasaki, the TVSs started pushing the scooters to a corner. It didn’t help that the Bajaj never paid attention to product development. For instance Kinetic came up with a gearless and a self start model primararily focused on female drivers. Similarly Vespa ventured into scooter market with some smarter designs. So now if a boy was still chasing a girl on his Bajaj Super or Chetak he was labeled as BTG (Bhaiyya Types Guy). What a transformation I must say. Scooter was still the preferred choice but only for Uncles ( Even I am one now courtesy all kids in my apt block). Their grown up sons wanted to ride only bikes. They will prefer to walk over riding an old fashioned scooter.
Time to move on. A new generation is at helm in Bajaj to look after the affairs of the company. And this new generation certainly thinks that manufacturing scooters is not to look forward. Bajaj has seen a turnaround in it’s fortunes with Pulsar brand. Yesterday’s people mover is bowing out when tomorrow’s mass carrier is rolling out of Tata plants. And the difference is not merely about purchasing power. The Nano is a product created for the Indian reality in the same way that Bajaj scooter was in the past. Even Bajaj’s logo has gone for complete overhaul with the younger generation taking charge of the company and the market.
It’s time for a new Sun to rise as as the Hamara Bajaj is riding into sunset.
The new logo.
Please feel free to put your comments here on how did you liked what I have written.
Love,
Saket.
If I may say so, I have witnesses the most interesting time period in lifecycle of Bajaj scooters. While I was growing up, all the kids with cycles always looked for a chance to get their first hang of how a automobile work. I am quite sure that many of us have learnt to ride two wheelers on Bajaj. Getting to ride
the scooter was the elevation every kid with cycle was looking for. All those boys who had got the promotion from cycle to scooter were the ‘Guys’ whom girls will pay attention( though scant I must say, school girls were still very shy in those days). And guys like me who were still on their Hero Ranger cycles
will be just left fuming. I am pretty sure that many of us would have gone through these scenes.There was a time, when your scooter becomes a car. You don’t even remember how many times only you or two had taken ride on it. At least three or at times four. You approach your first love with Bajaj scooter by your side. Standing at the other end of the narrow bylane of the girl’s house and waiting for the girl you wish to propose or your girlfriend, only Bajaj scooter was the partner in so many’s tryst of destiny.
Besides making love stories successful, Bajaj helped and contributed immensely towards building homes. It helped people move across their daily needs on this scooter. Carrying and dropping their loved ones from one part to other part of the city. Driving Bajaj was fun and everybody who owned a scooter had a smile on his/her face.
Riding with the family on scooter. Man, wife and their two/three kids.
Cut to 1991 Indian economy opens it’s door to liberalization and urban India started witnessing a more robust and a flashy two wheeler ‘Motorbike’ on it’s roads. Within a couple of years the Hero Hondas, the Kawasaki, the TVSs started pushing the scooters to a corner. It didn’t help that the Bajaj never paid attention to product development. For instance Kinetic came up with a gearless and a self start model primararily focused on female drivers. Similarly Vespa ventured into scooter market with some smarter designs. So now if a boy was still chasing a girl on his Bajaj Super or Chetak he was labeled as BTG (Bhaiyya Types Guy). What a transformation I must say. Scooter was still the preferred choice but only for Uncles ( Even I am one now courtesy all kids in my apt block). Their grown up sons wanted to ride only bikes. They will prefer to walk over riding an old fashioned scooter.
Time to move on. A new generation is at helm in Bajaj to look after the affairs of the company. And this new generation certainly thinks that manufacturing scooters is not to look forward. Bajaj has seen a turnaround in it’s fortunes with Pulsar brand. Yesterday’s people mover is bowing out when tomorrow’s mass carrier is rolling out of Tata plants. And the difference is not merely about purchasing power. The Nano is a product created for the Indian reality in the same way that Bajaj scooter was in the past. Even Bajaj’s logo has gone for complete overhaul with the younger generation taking charge of the company and the market.
It’s time for a new Sun to rise as as the Hamara Bajaj is riding into sunset.
The new logo.
Please feel free to put your comments here on how did you liked what I have written.
Love,
Saket.
Bhai Must say, it was very insightful.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work
Kya baat hai bhai..great blog. Likhte raho :)
ReplyDelete