Bajaj showcases new Discover 125ST
May 14, 2012
Pune based two wheeler maker, Bajaj Auto today showcased its latest offering in the commuter segment, called the Discover 125ST (Sports Tourer), in New Delhi today. The motorcycle is powered by a 125cc engine which features Bajaj’s propriety DTS-i technology and a four valve head and produces 12.6bhp of power. It also features a couple first for its segment like monoshock rear suspension and petal discs up front.
Overall looks of the motorcycles have more than a hint of the Pulsar range and it especially resembles the Pulsar 200NS that is due soon. The new Discover is sportier in terms of design than the previous iterations as the ST moniker in its name suggests and a swept up end can, high tail and silver center panel only accentuate this. The Discover 125ST will be sold alonside the current model range.
We expect the new Discover 125ST to be priced at Rs 55,000, ex-showroom (estimated). The motorcycle will reach the dealers across the country by the end of June. The company is expected to bring out its financial statement for the year by the end of this week as well.
Yamaha to set up new plant in Chennai
India Yamaha Motor Ltd (IYML) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tamil Nadu government approving the construction and operation of a new two-wheeler factory on the outskirts of Chennai. The new facility will join Yamaha’s existing factories at Surajpur (UP) and Faridabad (Haryana) to meet the rising demand for two-wheelers in India, particularly scooters.
The new factory, which will have a shopfloor space of 114,000 square metres, will be housed on a 440,000 square-metre site in an industrial park in Vallam Vadagal on the outskirts of Chennai. While construction is scheduled to begin in September 2012, completion and start of operations are planned for January 2014. The planned investment in the new project is around Rs 1,500 crore over the next five years.
According to plans, the new factory will employ 1,800 people and have an annual two-wheeler production rate of 400,000 units at the start of operations. Production capacity will gradually be increased to a level of 1.8 million units annually by 2018, at which time employment is expected to reach 6,500 people.
The new factory will employ a ‘theoretical-value-based production’ concept that operates on a system of completely synchronised manufacturing of parts and assembly of complete two-wheelers. Furthermore, the new Chennai factory will be the first in the Yamaha Motor Group to have a ‘vendor park’ in its nearby vicinity that will bring together the production operations of main external parts suppliers, thus enabling complete synchronisation of external supplier parts production as well. This system will reduce losses in the areas of production management and distribution to extremely low levels in the overall engineering, manufacturing and marketing process, and make the new production base a highly efficient and profitable plant.
Commenting on the occasion, Hiroyuki Suzuki, CEO and managing director, India Yamaha Motor, said: “We are very pleased with this development as this is in line with YMC’s medium-term management plans of enhancing local production levels to meet the demand growth in emerging markets such as India and their export markets. The Indian two-wheeler industry has witnessed much growth in the last few years, attributable to increased disposable income levels among a rapidly expanding middle class. We expect the industry to attain 20 million units level by 2016 when we are targeting to sell two million units and achieve a 10 percent market share.”
“We would also like to thank all the concerned Tamil Nadu government departments, especially Guidance Bureau which had extended its complete support to this project by facilitating as a true single window body”, he added.
, I hardly use it, once a month at max to get the engine going.
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