Bajaj Auto is seeing muted demand even as the festive season gathers steam in India. Typically, the festive season — which begins with Navaratri and goes on till the New Year — leads to higher demand for automobiles and other consumer discretionary products.
Demand is still muted, though not negative, but at "a very marginally positive" level this festive season, Rakesh Sharma, Executive Director at Bajaj Auto, told CNBC-TV18, "The export environment is volatile and, therefore, we feel that if we are going to just match our Q2 (July-September) performance in Q3, I think that would be a very good objective," he said.
The remarks from the top helm of India's largest manufacturer of two- and three-wheelers come days after the company reported a quarterly revenue of more than Rs 10,000 crore for the first time ever, beating Street estimates on most grounds.
ALSO READ: Analysts divided over Bajaj Auto. Here's why
Bajaj Auto's strong quarterly performance was aided by its strong pipeline in the domestic market though volatility in exports — given uncertainty in the global markets — had some analysts cutting their earnings estimates.
Sharma said the entry-level motorcycle segment, which accounts for almost half of the industry, is seeing a double-digit percentage decline, without elaborating.
"If you take the period from the start of Navaratri and Dussehra till Saturday (October 15), this is a consequence of two almost distinct and opposite trends," he said.
According to Sharma:
He believes Bajaj Auto is "much ahead of the industry in that (125-plus cc) segment and hopefully even on an overall basis, we will be outpacing simply because we have been backing the segment, which at this point of time is demonstrating growth in the industry".
The company will track the month of November closely to really understand whether consumers return to the purchasing vehicles after Diwali, he added.
Bajaj Auto aims to adjust its product proposition, with a faster expansion seen in the Chetak model given its supply chain visibility.
Bajaj Auto launched the electric scooter Chetak in 2020.
On Friday, the company said it is making steady progress on building its EV portfolio, with the sales volume and footprint of the Chetak scaling up.
The company said that the jump in its overall volumes is a reflection of its balanced and diversified portfolio that enables resilience in performance.
It also said that its Pulsar brand continues to deliver a solid performance.
Bajaj Auto shares have lost more than two percent of their value in the past one month, a period in which the Nifty50 has declined more than one percent..
Check out our in-depth Market Coverage, Business News & get real-time Stock Market Updates on CNBC-TV18. Also, Watch our channels CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz and CNBC Bajar Live on-the-go!
