“We will be spending between INR 700- 800 crore, primarily to complete the capex on our three wheeler plant and possibly some expansion that we need to do on Chetak as well,” Dinesh Thapar, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Bajaj Auto, told ETAuto during the company’s post-Q3 earnings media briefing on Thursday.
“Some of the capex will go into dyes and moulds, given that the innovation and density across the business has stepped up,” he added.
Last quarter, ETAuto reported how the two and three wheeler maker was working to ‘unlock capacities’ and expand its network.
On Thursday, Thapar also confirmed that Bajaj Auto is bringing a new mass-market electric scooter under the Chetak brand in May. Currently it sells two variants of the model- Chetak Premium and Chetak Urbane.
The company reported 18% growth in its consolidated net profit to INR 2,011 crore during January-March 2024 quarter, as against INR 1,705 crore in the corresponding quarter of last year. Total revenue from operations rose to INR 11,555 crore in the quarter ended March 2024, up from INR 8,929 crore in the fourth quarter of last year.
The Board of Directors have recommended a final dividend of 80 per share, totalling to INR 2,233 crores.
CNG motorcycle
Last month, Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj confirmed that the automaker is developing a portfolio of clean fuel CNG motorcycles, and the first such bike will hit the market in June. It will target mileage-conscious consumers and is expected to be priced higher than its petrol counterparts.
When asked about the investment that has gone into the CNG motorcycle business, Thapar said, “It is not such a large number, it sits within our capex. And the bulk of our capex that we spend is largely on capabilities and capacities for our electric business.”
Considering the spread of CNG infrastructure in the country which is widespread but mostly concentrated in a few states, the automaker is "absolutely mindful" and plans to launch the upcoming motorcycle in a phased manner.
"Almost 3/4th of the passenger three wheelers that we sell are actually CNG. So we have a strong expertise and experience in CNG fuel vehicles. We have mapped out the districts across the country in terms of the CNG presence, and that is how the launch (of the new motorcycle) is planned in a phased manner,” Thapar noted.
As of 2023-end, Gujarat leads with the highest number of CNG stations in the country. It is followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and the NCR (National Capital Region).
Triumph Business
Last quarter, Bajaj talked about increasing the monthly production of Triumph motorcycles. Currently, Bajaj Auto makes about 6,500 units of its Triumph motorcycles a month. It aims to achieve its target of 10,000 units by September this year.
In 2017, Bajaj and British motorcycle brand Triumph formed a global partnership. In July last year, the two companies launched co-developed Triumph Speed 400 and Scrambler 400 X motorcycles in India. The models are produced at Bajaj Auto's new manufacturing facility in Chakan, which initially had a capacity to produce 5,000 units of these bikes per month. It was later scaled up to 8000 units.
In the October-December 2023 quarter, Bajaj started exports of Triumph motorcycles by selling 7000 units in markets including the UK, US, Japan, Australia and Poland.
Exports
Bajaj Auto stated that the overseas markets continue to remain a challenge.
According to the CFO, buoyancy of the domestic market's performance has continued to lead the company's results in Q4 FY24. The export revenues during this period benefited from a softer base in the corresponding quarter of last year.
