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It was a
chance meeting, that may well have never happened. But then history is
full of coincidences. Maurice Kanbar was merely standing in for a friend,
who could not get a connecting flight from Washington, and that meant
hosting one Ramakrishna Bajaj. Little did he know that the Indian gentleman,
with whom he would have a great time that night in the Waldorf Hotel in
Estoria, New York, was the patriarch of one of the largest and most successful
family businesses. And, the business tycoon did not let on either.
And so the evening, almost three decades ago, progressed bringing the
two strangers closer together. The chemistry that worked between Bajaj
and Kanbar has now emerged as a business relationship. The wealthy American
went on to set up a sole proprietorship in 1999 that now imports scooters
from Bajaj Auto for sale in the United States.
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| ROAD RAGE: Kanbar hopes to increase sales to
5,000 by next year |
The entire process of orienting the vehicle to suit American conditions
and norms, took a long while. The first consignment of 500 scooters arrived
only last month at the port of Oakland in California. From all accounts
the Bajaj vehicle, adequately pronounced "Baa-jaaj" by the dealers,
has struck the right chords in American minds. The company has already
signed up 30 dealers this year and is proposing to double them next year.
"I am shocking people with them. It is a good quality scooter at
a low price. Chetak already has a waiting list. And as regards the Legend,
people would like to compare the two models before deciding to make a
purchase. I hope to sell about 70 scooters in a year," says Melissa
Moldovan of 200cc Inc, a scooter dealership based in Atlantic Beach, Florida.
Six of the 30 dealers are located in Florida, where the weather permits
all-year riding.
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| CROSSING OCEANS: Bajaj Sapphire |
According to Al Kolvites, president, Bajaj USA, the scooter will be positioned
as a reliable vehicle for primary transport. "Bajaj has a very good
reputation. Hence, we are positioning it as the most reliable, not the
fastest," he remarks, before going on to add, "there is no single
advertisement for this product. I have got customers ranging from all
ages. The youngest is 18 and the oldest is 70 years."
The scooter also seems to be winning approval ratings from auto magazines.
"Any new scooter coming to America is reason to celebrate, but the
populist ideals of Bajaj will hopefully serve the scooter market well
by getting more scooters into the hands and hearts of everyday people,"
says a review in 2strokeBuzz, a magazine for scooterists founded in 1996
by Bryan and Tracie Bedell.
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| ENDURING TIME: The late Ramakrishna Bajaj spurred
on the business |
Scooter sales in the US are almost impossible to track as the Department
of Motor Vehicles (DMV) registers them as motorcycles. Hence, one has
to depend on what are, at best, guesstimate by dealers. It is estimated
that total scooter sales in the US rose from 21,000 in 1999 to 30,000
in 2000-a far cry from those knocked up in the almost insatiable Indian
market. Bajaj USA believes that despite competition from existing players
like Vespa and Yamaha, it could push sales of its scooters upto 3,000-5,000
per year.
Priced at a little under $2,000, the only manual ignition scooter of
its kind in the US compares very favourably with all its competitors.
The closest price competitor to the 145cc Bajaj Chetak is the Vespa ET-2,
which is priced at $2,900. And in comparable engine size, the competitor
is the 150cc ET-4, which is priced at $4,000.
Besides the new models, the company is also introducing the autorickshaw
in the US market. The three-wheeler engines are currently undergoing EPA
and CARB emissions testing. So far, they are within limits. Bajaj Auto
is making some updates to these designs-including the probable inclusion
of a door to accommodate customers from cold climes-to conform to the
Department of Transport requirements and the vehicle is expected to hit
the US markets by next year.
According to Kolvites, the company has already received queries. "We
plan to market these to airports, industrial complexes, sight seeing,
pizza delivery vehicles and so on. It is inexpensive and can carry heavy
loads. We are looking to sell about 3,000-4,000 three-wheelers a year,"
he added.
And yet again the DMV has classified this as a motorcycle! The upside
for Bajaj Auto is that it doesn't need to incorporate bumper protection,
air bag, etc. The downside for the customer is that if the state requires
use of helmets for motorcycles then the rider will have to wear one. A
cumbersome task, if you can imagine a ride in the autos back home in India.
The frequent changes to the model design are being effected very smoothly.
The credit for this should rest largely on the fact that underlying the
business association is a very strong friendship between the two families.
The business element of the relationship actually evolved almost naturally
over the three decades of association. As Kanbar recalls, the dinner led
to a friendship that has endured two generations. With the demise of Ramakrishna
Bajaj and the ascent of Rahul Bajaj as the family head, the association
remained. Coincidentally, Kanbar's love affair with the scooter happened
around the same time that he met up with Bajaj senior. He acquired his
own vehicle in Cannes, during one of his annual pilgrimages-he owns movie
theaters in New York and has a presence in the film world- to the film
festival.
"My first two-wheeler was a moped, which I replaced with a Yamaha
scooter. But I assure you, as of this Saturday I will replace this with
a Bajaj Chetak," says Kanbar.
Clearly, the valiant Indian two-wheeler has won the heart and mind of
Maurice Kanbar. Will Hamara Bajaj do the same with the purse strings of
the rest of United States too?
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ISSUE DEC 24, 2001
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