3-wheeler makers to phase out existing models

The Rs 300-crore three-wheeler market is currently being dominated by Bajaj Auto which has a market share of over 80 per cent. Bajaj Auto is now shifting gears to launch diesel as well as environmental-friendly models as customers are being wooed by competition with models incorporating latest technology. New entrant Piaggio of Italy seeks to break Bajaj8217;s monopoly with models which has been designed especially for the Indian market.

The market is also shifting with three-wheelers being used as a passenger vehicle to a cargo carrier. Speaking to this newspaper, Ravi Chopra, managing director of Piaggio Greaves Vehicles Ltd, a 51:49 joint venture between Piaggio and Greaves, the three-wheeler industry will shift from the present petrol fueled vehicles to diesel vehicles 8211; mainly due to economy of diesel as a fuel.

While Italian auto maker Piaggio is a new entrant to the Indian market, only few players such as Scooters India Ltd and Bajaj Tempo, are present in the three-wheeler market but their volumes are very low in comparison to Bajaj Auto which sells over 2.5 lakh three wheelers in the Indian market.

Piaggio is now eyeing the Indian market with premium products costing in the range of Rs 85,000 to Rs 100,000. 8220;Our products are meeting all the future emission norms and it is being projected more as a cargo carrier of 1 tonner rather than a auto rickshaw,8221; says Chopra.

Piaggio would, however, find the going tough as market leader Bajaj Auto has also planned diesel models with four stroke engines. Besides, the Pune-based company has an intensive distribution network.

8220;We are not competing with Bajaj8230; on the contrary we are creating a new segment where no other manufacturer has entered before,8221; Chopra says. Piaggio8217;s Ape8217; range of three-wheelers has already been launched in Hyderabad, Pune, Thrissur and Mumbai.

PTI ADDS FROM PUNE: Bajaj Auto will phase out its two-stroke three-wheelers from the Indian market due to difficulty in meeting stringent emission norms and plans to replace these vehicles with newly developed four-stroke ones.

Bajaj has scheduled the launch of new four-stroke three-wheeler in April next year, the month when the year 2000 emission norms would come into effect. The new Bajaj-Re8217; model would conform to the year 2000 emission standards and be marketed in India and other neighbouring countries. The company has already developed the new model and is currently testing the same at its Pune plant, sources said.