BAJAJ CHETAK SCOOTER

GROUP MEMBERS:
SAVITA CHOUDHARY C-33 MEHUL SIHAG C-49 VINAY TRIPATHI C-44 VARSHA SAWLANI P-58

BAJAJ CHETAK: A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

BAJAJ CHETAK was a popular Indian made motor scooter produced by the Bajaj auto company. Chetak was the only choice for millions of Indian families as an affordable way of transport for decades.

The Chetak, BAL's first scooter model under the Bajaj brand, was introduced in 1972. The Chetak, a geared scooter, had reigned over the Indian two-wheeler market in the late 1970s to early 1990s
In the 1970s and 1980s, scooters dominated the Indian two-wheeler market. Most middle-class Indians preferred scooters because of their durability, low maintenance costs, and versatility and compared to the motorcycles available in India were heavier and not as fuel efficient as scooters. and were even costlier.

STAGE I - INTRODUCTION

Starting Price Quoted in the start was roughly between Rs. 8000 9000/The companys first scooter model, Chetak(intentionally it was given the name of Maratha ruler Chatrapathi Shivajis horses name), was launched in 1972. Chetak remained Bajajs flagship brand for over 10 years. There was a time when people had to wait hell lot of a time after pre booking their Chetak. The Launch of Bajaj Chetak was mainly targeted at economical Class and people could afford it considering its parallel competition in the same segment market. Late 70s had been the Golden period for the Bajaj scooters, especially the Chetak. In 1977 Bajaj Auto claimed to have sold a lakh of Chetaks in just one FY.

STAGE II - GROWTH

Some of the Significant changes brought about in this scooter was change in many tech specs, mainly compared to its competiton from Motorbikes, Mopeds which were gaining grounds in term of market share. Over 2 and a half decades until the halt of 1995 the company did not face any stiff competition from any 2 wheeler market segment, apart from the introduction of minor changes in its performance parameters meaning more augmented changes in the scooter itself like colour some peripheral outer changes in parts Some of the competition were from the scooter segments LML Vespa Scooters, Automobile Products of India's Lambretta.

The Price wars was not the criteria for the competition as the demand itself surpassed the supply and in India owning scooter at that time was a status symbol.

Bajaj Chetak had targeted the soft spot of what most Indian people in that time desired in their two wheelers which was durability, low maintenance costs, and versatility, and the ease of its use which made it the most dependable and flexible transport mode.
The main marketing strategy used by Bajaj Chetak was mainly targetting the emerging middle class in India and adding the feeling of 'we' or the feeling of belongingness by strong sentimental slogans like "Hamara Bajaj.

STAGE III- MATURITY

In the late 1990s, the Indian two-wheeler market witnessed a shift in consumer preferences. The popularity of geared scooters began to wane while that of motorcycles soared. There were various reasons for the shift -India was undergoing a demographic change, with the proportion of younger people in the population growing significantly; the economy was growing, which increased the disposable incomes of the middle class; also, many newer models of motorcycles, with improved designs and modern technology had become available in the market.

While these changes were taking place in the market, the features of scooters, especially those of the Bajaj Chetak, remained essentially unchanged.

STAGE IV DECLINE

The primary reason is that the Brand forgot the customers. Another case of Marketing Myopia. The company failed to understand the changing perception of the customers towards scooters. Rather than looking at the customers, the company focused on influencing Government to block the opening up of economy. Bajaj never did anything with the product. For 40 years Chetak had the same look, same quality and style. During the mid nineties the company realised lately that the segment has shifted to motorcycles. Scooters were no longer the option. But did the company made a mistake in discarding the scooter segment ? Looking at the way the share prices are going, the market

Reasons for Failure? or Decline?

Bajaj never was serious about product development. The R&D spent for a long time was a miniscule 1%. The average cycle time for the new product development was 4-5 years compared to 2-3 years of Japanese competitors. Even after the opening up of economy, the scooter segment did not witness much competition. The players like Vespa did not had much of success in this segment. Kinetic Honda managed to carve a niche with its gearless scooters. Another segment which was growing was the scooterette segment which was dominated by TVS scooty.

The players like Vespa did not had much of success in this segment. Kinetic Honda managed to carve a niche with its gearless scooters. Another segment which was growing was the scooterette segment which was dominated by TVS scooty.

Bajaj never seriously looked at customer perception about Chetak. The product had serious problems like starting trouble and riding comfort. The " Tilting the chetak to the side for starting " was a common joke. Did the company do anything for that ? No
There was nothing wrong with the Promotion. " Hamara Bajaj " and " No one can beat a Bajaj " were famous base lines. There was nothing wrong with distribution and the pricing was very reasonable. The major problem was in the first P : Product.

OUR OWN STRATEGY

PRICE:

Bajaj Chetak's price was truly affordable. But the new motor cycles entering the two wheeler segment offered better technology & fuel efficiency than Bajaj Chetak at almost same price.
Price in our view was never a issue associated with this product, it perfectly suited the profile of the product in the market whether taken earlier in mid seventies or late nineties as it was according to its offerings. It was perfectly targeting the economical class which was itself a part of the large mass of population itself, meaning affordable range.

PRODUCT:
The company should look upon its R&D and improve the overall looks of Bajaj Chetak. It should make efforts to change the quality & style of the scooter to suit the tastes & preferences of its customers.

The product had serious problems like starting trouble & riding comfort, which need to be eliminated. Auto start feature which was prominent should have been introduced. Though counted as efficient in many terms Fuel efficiency was a major issue. In our view the combustion efficiency of the scooter needed to be improved and efficiency in terms of mileage needed a major boost.

PROMOTION & ADVERTISING:

The main marketing strategy used by Bajaj Chetak was mainly targeting the emerging middle class in India and adding the feeling of 'we' or the feeling of belongingness by strong sentimental slogans like "Hamara Bajaj". The Approach of this Marketing Strategy adopted by Chetak was Non-Pragmatic Bajaj Chetak should come out with various schemes & incentives, no warranty schemes were wailed by the company or ad-don products and service centers were less in number which should have been more to ease customer support and product maintenance centers.

Thank You!!!

Indeed.truly it was Hamara Bajaj