THE ROAD AHEAD: Bajaj Auto managing director Rajiv Bajaj in New Delhi on Monday. (PTI)

New Delhi, June 25 (PTI): Bajaj Auto expects sales to grow by October. The company has been witnessing a drop in sales for the past four months because of rising interest rates.

Bajaj Auto also plans to launch a bike by September. “We will launch a motorcycle targeted at customers in the 100cc segment. The bike will offer additional features and will be priced at Rs 40,000,” company managing director Rajiv Bajaj said. The company’s Aurangabad unit will manufacture 50,000 units of the new bike every month.

The company expects to export six lakh units this fiscal, up 41.5 per cent from 4,24,000 in the previous year.

“We had exported 4.24 lakh units in 2006-07, which translated into revenues of Rs 1,700 crore. We expect to export six lakh units this fiscal, which should add about Rs 2,500 crore to our topline,” Bajaj said.

Pulsar bike

The company today launched the 220cc Pulsar DTS-Fi bike. It will sport a price tag of Rs 81,280 (ex-showroom Delhi).

The model clubs the company’s patented DTS-Fi engines with the fuel injection technology. DTS-Fi stands for digital twin spark fuel injection. This will be the company’s fifth model in the high-end segment after the 150, 180, 200cc Pulsars and the 180cc Avenger.

At present, the company sells about 45,000 units a month in the high-end segment. It aims to sell 2,000 units of the Pulsar DTS-Fi per month. Bajaj said the company expects profits to remain at the same level as those of the fourth quarter last year.

Small car

Bajaj Auto today said it was developing a concept for a small car, but ruled out being a competitor to the Tatas’ Rs 1 lakh car. “We are experimenting with the concept but it is not a cheap car,” Bajaj said.

It is a high-technology car developed through in-house research and development and seeks to redefine small cars, he said.