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Bajaj Auto Ends Eight-Year Old Alliance With Japan’s Kawasaki

Decision to part ways with Kawasaki was a mutually agreeable one: Bajaj Auto

Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Ninja motorcycles sit on the assembly line at the Bajaj Auto Ltd. plant in Chakan, India. (Photographer: Adeel Halim/Bloomberg)
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Ninja motorcycles sit on the assembly line at the Bajaj Auto Ltd. plant in Chakan, India. (Photographer: Adeel Halim/Bloomberg)

Bajaj Auto Ltd. will end its eight year old sales and service tie-up with Kawasaki Motorcycle & Engine Company. The Pune-based company will no longer manage sales and service of Kawasaki-branded motorcycles in India, from April 1.

Bajaj Auto which also has a partnership with Austrian biking firm KTM had been selling Kawasaki bikes through its Probiking network. The company said the decision to part ways was a mutually agreeable one, in a press statement.

The Pune-based company has been working closely with KTM over the past few years, and has been jointly developing products, starting with the Duke 200 motorcycle in 2012.

“Going forward, Bajaj intends to focus on the KTM brand,” the release quoted Amit Nandi, President of the Probiking division as saying.

Bajaj Auto already has over 300 KTM dealer outlets in the country, and sells five products under the Duke and RC monikers. The company said KTM sales during the ongoing financial year (April-March), were estimated at 37,000 units.

As for the existing and future Kawasaki products, sales and service would be provided by India Kawasaki Motors Pvt. Ltd. through its own dealer network, Bajaj Auto said.