BAJAJ DISCOVER

                                             BAJAJ DISCOVER

Bajaj Auto came into existence on 29 November 1944 as M/s Bachraj Trading Corporation Private Limited. It started off by selling imported two- and three-wheelers in India.In 1959, it obtained a licence from the Government of India to manufacture two-wheelers and three-wheelersand it became a public limited company in 1960. In 1970, it rolled out its 100,000th vehicle.In 1977, it sold 100,000 vehicles in a financial yearIn 1985, it started producing at Waluj near AurangabadIn 1986, it sold 500,000 vehicles in a financial year. In 1995, it rolled out its ten millionth vehicle and produced and sold one million vehicles in a year.

With the launch of motorcycles in 1986, the company has changed its image from a scooter manufacturer to a two-wheeler manufacturer.

According to the authors of Globality: Competing with Everyone from Everywhere for Everything, Bajaj has operations in 50 countries creating a line of bikes targeted to the preferences of entry-level buyers.

^{Bajaj Auto bought a controlling stake in the Tempo Firodia company, renaming it "Bajaj Tempo". Germany's Daimler-Benz, a long-time collaborator with Firodia because of their ownership of the original Tempo works in Germany, owned 16% of Bajaj Tempo. Daimler sold their stake back to the Firodia group in 2001, meaning that they once again held a controlling interest, with BAL retaining 24% of the shares. It was agreed that Bajaj Tempo would gradually phase out the use of the "Tempo" brand name, as it still belonged to Mercedes-Benz. The name of the company was changed to Force Motors in May 2005, dropping "Bajaj" as well as "Tempo", over the objections of Bajaj Auto with whom the company shares a long history as well as a compound wall.}

Bajaj and Kawasaki have ended their 33 year alliance in India following deepening of ties between the latter and its Austrian partner KTM. Bajaj Auto had an alliance with Kawasaki for the sale and after sales service of Kawasaki motorcycles through its Probiking, a premium bike dealership network, since 2009. These Probiking dealerships were later converted to KTM dealerships. Bajaj Auto Ltd. made a technical assistance agreement with Kawasaki japan in 1984, and since then it had cooperated to expand production and sales of motorcycles in India.

·         Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS received Bike of the Year 2010 award from BBC - TopGear and Bike India.

·         Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi received the Bike of the Year 2008 award by all major Indian automobile magazines like Overdrive, AutoCar, Business Standard Motoring and Bike Top Gear.

·         In 2006, Bajaj Auto won the Frost & Sullivan Super Platinum Award for manufacturing excellence in its Chakan Plant.

·         It received award for The Most Customer Responsive Company in Automobiles category in a survey conducted by Economic Times for the years 2004, 2006 and 2008.

·         Bajaj Auto received the Bike Maker of the Year award in ICICI Bank Overdrive Awards 2004.

·         Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTS-i won the BBC World Wheels Viewers Choice Two Wheeler of the Year 2003 award.

However, during mid-2005, the Discover was made a single variant model. It was revamped with new graphics, black grab-rail, SNS (Spring in spring) suspension, 130 mm drum brakes, six spoke alloys as standard, selfstart and some engine tweaks predominantly aimed at reducing friction and combustion roar.

A 135 cc model was launched in 2007 which features a front disc brake, self-start, nitrox suspension and black alloy wheels. The silver engine has also been powder-coated black in the 135 cc variant.

A 100 cc version was launched in 2009 with a DTS-Si engine. After the success of the discover 100, Bajaj launched a 150 cc version and stopped production of the 135 cc variant. The 125 cc variant was re-launched in 2011.The 125ST was launched in 2012.Three new models - 100 T, 100M and 125 T powered by world's first 4 valve twin spark - DTSi engine and new sporty designs was launched in 2013.

At launch, four variants were available:

·         Spoke wheels, Drum brake, Kickstart, Round Headlamp

·         Spoke wheels, Drum brake, Kickstart, Fairing

·         Spoke wheels, Drum brake, Selfstart, Fairing

·         Alloy wheels, Disc brake, Selfstart, Fairing, Tachometer