It’s Celebration Time
This year, Bajaj Auto celebrates 25 years of the Pulsar brand and TVS Motor 20 years of the Apache brand.
In 2002, Bajaj launched the Kawasaki 175 Eliminator. The first ride was held at their Chakan test track. At the conclusion of that ride, we were given a short ride on the Pulsar 180, the motorcycle that was going to be launched later that year. The Pulsar brand entered the market with a 150-cc and a 180-cc bike. Now we have it starting with 125 cc and going all the way up to 400 cc.
Pulsar has become a household name not only in India but all over the world.
As for TVS, which is celebrating 20 years of its performance brand Apache, we had done a track test of all its 150-cc bikes at the MMRT racetrack in Chennai, and I vividly recall the Apache frightening the daylights out of me because the bike was all over the place due to its very short wheelbase. The Apache RTR160 that followed later was a brilliant bike. Now the Apache brand has grown to 310 cc and is well known across the globe.
The two slabs of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), 18 per cent and 40 per cent, are there to show the people that the authorities have helped the ordinary man by penalizing those who can afford to buy bikes over 350 cc. On the one hand, the government says that it wants the Indian manufacturers to compete in the global market, and, on the other, penalizes the manufacturers who make bikes over 350 cc to be able to compete with the best in the world. Revenue-wise, it will not make much difference to the exchequer because the number of bikes over 350 cc sold is minuscule compared to the smaller commuter motorcycles. In our opinion, the GST Council should reconsider the 40 per cent tax on bikes over 350 cc.
