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Our Bureau

Pune, Oct. 7 Bajaj Auto Ltd is committed to the Ultra Low-Cost (ULC) project in partnership with Renault and Nissan, but Managing Director, Mr Rajiv Bajaj, admitted that branding was a major issue that still remained to be ironed out.

“We made a commitment in Paris in September 2007, and we are confident we will deliver on it,” Mr Bajaj said, adding that he would rather not guess on whether it is on schedule or not.

Branding is the major issue that has still to be worked out, but development is in progress. “It isn’t that we have stopped work on it,” he said. However, he added that the formation of the new joint venture company had still not happened.

Mr Bajaj pointed out that according to Renault chief Mr Carlos Ghosn’s diktat to them, the car project did not hinge around price alone.

“We have learnt from bitter experience that cheapest doesn’t work for us, so for the car, fuel efficiency and maintenance costs are important considerations,” he asserted, adding that this was a major project and all such projects can be delayed.

BAL has broadly set the launch of the project for 2011. He ruled out any possibility of making sedans in the near future saying that the company could not afford it.

Referring to the sharp drop in sales during 2008, Mr Bajaj said, “Last year the industry had no problems, but we had. It was a mistake to try and be like someone else and make sober, run-of-the-mill bikes. Now we have fixed these problems, and put a strategy of being ourselves, in place. In the second half of this fiscal, 50 per cent growth in comparison to same month last year is possible.”

The first quarter of the current year has been the best-ever in the history of the company in terms of profitability, and Mr Bajaj says, adding that the June-September quarter is poised to be better still. The company is due to announce its second quarter results on October 15.

More Stories on : Cars | Outlook | Bajaj Auto Ltd | Branding

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