BAJA AUTO – HISTORY
Located in Pune, India, Bajaj Auto Limited is a global manufacturer of automobiles. It makes auto rickshaws, motorbikes, and scooters. The Bajaj Group includes Bajaj Auto. Jamnalal Bajaj (1889–1942) founded it in Rajasthan in the 1940s.
India’s second-largest motorcycle producer, Bajaj Auto, is the third-largest motorbike manufacturer in the world.
It is the biggest three-wheeler producer in the world. The value of Bajaj Auto exceeded $1 trillion in December 2020, making it the most valuable two-wheeler manufacturer in the world.
On November 29, 1945, M/s Bachraj Trade Corporation Private Limited was founded. Two- and three-wheelers were initially imported and offered for sale in India. The government of India granted it permission to produce two- and three-wheelers in 1959, and Piaggio granted it permission to produce Vespa Brand Scooters in India. In 1960, it converted to a public limited company.
The company altered its branding from a scooter maker to a two-wheeler manufacturer with the introduction of motorcycles in 1986.
Bajaj Auto and Kawasaki signed a technical assistance agreement in 1984 to work together to increase motorcycle production and sales in the local market.
Early in the new century, Bajaj Auto acquired a majority ownership in Tempo Firodia and changed its name to “Bajaj Tempo”. 16% of Bajaj Tempo was held by German company Daimler-Benz, however Daimler later sold its share to the Firodia group. It was decided that Bajaj Tempo would eventually stop using the “Tempo” brand name because Mercedes-Benz still owned it. Against the protests of Bajaj Auto, with whom the company shares a long history and a compound wall, the name of the company was changed to Force Motors in 2005, eliminating “Bajaj” and “Tempo.”
Early in the new century, Bajaj Auto acquired a majority ownership in Tempo Firodia and changed its name to “Bajaj Tempo”. 16% of Bajaj Tempo was held by German company Daimler-Benz, however Daimler later sold its share to the Firodia group. It was decided that Bajaj Tempo would eventually stop using the “Tempo” brand name because Mercedes-Benz still owned it. Against the protests of Bajaj Auto, with whom the company shares a long history and a compound wall, the name of the company was changed to Force Motors in 2005, eliminating “Bajaj” and “Tempo.”
Awards and acknowledgments
The Bajaj Pulsar 135 LS won the BBC TopGear and Bike India 2010 Bike of the Year award.
All of the major Indian automotive publications, including Overdrive, Autocar, Business Standard Motoring, and Bike Top Gear, awarded the Pulsar 220 DTS-Fi the Bike of the Year 2008 title.
The Frost & Sullivan Super Platinum Award for manufacturing excellence at its Chakan Plant was given to Bajaj Auto in 2006.
In a study performed by the Economic Times in the years 2004, 2006, and 2008, it was recognised as the Most Customer-Responsive Business in the Vehicles category.
Bike Manufacturer of the Year was given to Bajaj Auto at the 2004 ICICI Bank Overdrive Awards.
The BBC World Wheels People’ Choice Two Wheeler of the Year 2003 was went to the Bajaj Pulsar 180 DTS-i.
Bajaj Auto was listed at 1,416 on the Forbes Global 2000 list for 2012.
