According to the official Bajaj Auto Limited website online, Bajaj is a leading manufacturer of motorcycles, scooters or ungeared two wheelers, and three wheelers in India. The three wheeler is considered both as a passenger carrier and as an economical and reliable delivery vehicle. Bajaj is one of India's ten largest companies in terms of market capitalization and as among the top five in terms of annual sales revenues. The company was founded in 1945. From 1948 to 1959, Bajaj imported scooters and three-wheelers from Italy but in 1959 the company obtained a production license. Bajaj started producing scooters in 1961 and three wheeler products in 1962. Today, the company is a market leader with annual production of more than 1.35 million units. Over time, Bajaj successfully transformed itself from a scooter to a motorcycle manufacturer. The company originally ttargeted the lower end, entry level motorcycle market but over time Bajaj has developed larger and more powerful motorcycles that retain the company's reputation for reliability.
In a joint venture between Bajaj and the Maharashtra State Government and its Westerns Maharashtra Development Corporation, a manufacturing plant was built in Maharashtra State in which scooters are built. The scooters from the original production plant as well as a second facility built in 1984 are distributed, marketed, sold and financed through Bajaj's distribution network and under the Bajaj brand name.
Bajaj is represented by a network of more than 6,000 Bajaj auto and consumer durable goods dealerships throughout the country. Bajaj has an arrangement with Kawasaki Heavy Industry of Japan to produce state of the art motorcycles and three-wheelers in India. From its modest beginning, Bajaj has grown to the point where it now exports to customers in more than fifty countries. According to company statistics, Bajaj exported more than 196,000 vehicles in fiscal year 2005. Bajaj do...