Joint Managing Director (effective June 2026), Bajaj Auto Limited
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News Par Views | Bajaj Auto उम्मीद से बेहतर प्रदर्शन, क्या है खास ट्रिगर्स? क्या ...
About Rakesh Sharma
Rakesh Sharma, who became Joint Managing Director of Bajaj Auto in June 2026, has been discussing the company's performance and strategy in several media appearances. He stated that Bajaj Auto's electric vehicle business now contributes about 30% of domestic revenue, describing the electric scooter and three-wheeler segments as growing strongly. Sharma said the company plans to increase its total production capacity from approximately 7 million units per annum to over 9 million units, citing the demand outlook. He noted that exports have been a highlight, with a monthly run-rate above 250,000 units, though he attributed some shortfall in May 2026 to supply chain and logistics disruptions. Sharma commented on market conditions, saying the "bottom half of the market is really underperforming" while the 150cc-plus motorcycle segment was growing at 25%. He described the second quarter of FY27 as a "very busy quarter" focused on preparing a refreshed product lineup for the festive season starting in October. Regarding the Delhi electric vehicle policy, Sharma said the industry had been in dialogue with the government and expressed the view that allowing hybrid products would have made the policy "more balanced." He reiterated the company's existing policy of distributing 90% of profits through dividends and buybacks.
Transcript (14 segments)
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Anil0:08
Welcome everyone to the News for News segment. We are going to meet the country and world's leading two-wheeler and three-wheeler company Bajaj Auto. Bajaj Auto needs no introduction. You know the name well. Let's talk about the monthly sales numbers. We are meeting with Bajaj Auto's Joint MD Rakesh Sharma. You have been with the company since 2007. In June 2026 or a month earlier, sir took over as Joint MD. Sir graduated in Commerce from Delhi University. He has a post-graduate diploma in Management from IIM Ahmedabad. Let me quickly put the numbers in front of you. The numbers came yesterday and were out before the market opened. Bajaj Auto has performed much better than expected. Total two-wheeler sales increased by 31%. Exports have seen a tremendous jump of 47%. Total sales also, if you see, grew by 28%, much better than expected. So the June numbers are very good and the quarterly update is also excellent. Good morning, Mr. Sharma. A very warm welcome to you, sir. Thank you for giving us your time. You are giving amazing performance every quarter. You are giving tremendous performance. Every month the performance is very big. June was also a great month, sir.
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Rakesh Sharma1:19
Namaste. Yes, June was also a great month. The quarter was also good, and it was a very difficult quarter because there were so many problems on the supply chain side. You know, in manufacturing, due to manpower availability, there was a lot of hindrance. And shipping, you know, about 50% of Bajaj Auto's exports, we need four or five shipping ships every day, and there was a significant shortage. So I would say that if everything had been perfect in June, exports would have increased even more than 101%. We did 2,500, it could have reached close to 3 lakh. Anyway, this gap will spill over into July, and we hope that the supply chain and shipping environment will improve a bit, and we will be able to achieve higher numbers. So it was a tough quarter, and even then the performance was good, which gave us a lot of satisfaction.
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Anil2:39
I enjoyed it, Mr. Sharma. You are saying it was a difficult quarter, and in that you are achieving 47% export growth. So when times get a little easier, which is happening, I am sure that in July you will see a much better situation in the supply chain, and then it can be expected that in July there could be even stronger growth. You could have done 10-15% better anyway.
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Rakesh Sharma3:03
Yes, I feel the same hope. Like exports are between 2,500 and 3 lakh, our continuous effort will be to maximize this because orders are there, Anil ji, we have sighting, but now all that depends on shipping availability, and this thing is fluctuating on a daily basis. So we have to see how it goes. We are trying.
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Anil3:34
Sir, you have told us that export demand is strong, but I also want to understand from you about domestic demand. How was this month and this quarter, and what signals do you see going forward regarding domestic demand, sir?
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Rakesh Sharma3:50
So in this, Anil ji, see, the previous quarter, meaning Q4, if we take January, February, March, I would say that the tremendous growth that started due to the GST cut from Diwali and after Diwali continued until March. Then what happened? These difficulties came on the supply chain side, prices also increased, due to which growth fell and became half in April, and in May it fell again. So we had a little apprehension that demand had decreased a lot because the GST cut, due to inflation, 50% of the benefit that customers were getting from that cut was rolled back. But the performance of June, the industry's, came back to double-digit growth. So the entire quarter is a healthy quarter. It is not 25%, but half of that, meaning around 11-12% numbers are coming, which is also good growth if we keep the environment in mind. It has decreased, become half from Q4 to Q1. Now the coming quarter, you know, July, August, the rains start, so it's not that hot, so it will remain a bit cool. But the performance of June gives a big reassurance that the customer is able to withstand all these troubles due to the war. Not only in India, but internationally also, the resilience that is called, the whole world has shown that despite the war, the customers' positive outlook remains.
For us, Q2 is a very busy quarter because there are tremendous launches in it, and we want to complete this by September so that when the season starts from October, from Navratri, we can present our new lineup, upgraded lineup in motorcycles, well to the customer. So for us it is a busy quarter. The numbers will not be very large, growth I think will remain because last year also that quarter remains small, but it is a preparation quarter so that when we enter Q3 with a refreshed lineup and strong brand presentation, we can have good engagement with the customer.
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Anil6:28
Perfect. Mr. Sharma, tell us one more thing. The new EV policy has come in Delhi, which says that from January 2027, only electric three-wheelers will be registered in Delhi. Also, from April 2028, all two-wheelers registered will only be electric vehicles. What is Bajaj Auto's preparation and what kind of opportunities do you see in this? And the second related question is, if similar policies are implemented in other states of the country, how do you plan to change your business model?
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Rakesh Sharma7:02
Anil ji, the best thing is that in electric, our business now is 30% of domestic revenue, and I think no other company has that much. So we are at the forefront of electric development. Our range, if you look at three-wheelers, we have eight electric vehicles, starting from rickshaws, covering the entire spectrum with the biggest battery, longest range, and largest vehicle. So our preparation is very good. In Delhi, we have 100% market share. Currently, the monthly business in Delhi is only 500-600 vehicles sold per month. So it's not a very big business. So we are fully prepared.
But I will just say one thing: the Delhi government has taken a very courageous step. There are tremendous incentives. There are incentives for scrappage. But Delhi is a very big city, and there are different types of operations. Many people drive short distances frequently. Many people in commercial use drive 100-100 kilometers a day. So to fulfill the different types of usage, different solutions should be offered.
And we say that the industry should be given an emission standard set. Then whatever technology is there, it should be chosen. We in India are very fortunate. Why? Because electric is there. After that, there is a tremendous CNG network in Delhi, and the government has supported it very well. And now ethanol is increasing. Higher ethanol blending in petrol is a very good option in front of the world. So if we take these three or four technologies forward, then there is the customer's expectation. Different types of use cases, as I mentioned, energy security, imports, pollution, we have to tackle all these things together. So we feel that no good technology should be kept aside, and all these technologies together should provide a good solution so that we can meet the different issues and challenges. But okay, the government has adopted only the EV path. We are very prepared, we will do it, but the customer should also feel that with EV, his livelihood, if he drives 100-150 km, then he earns ₹2000 per day. In that, he will not have a problem.
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Anil10:08
Absolutely right. That's completely true. Now, sir, I want to ask one last question regarding the monsoon. It has been a bit delayed, a bit late. And generally we feel that if the monsoon is weak, there is a risk of lower rural demand, especially for two-wheelers. Have there been any initial signs of that, or is there no such fear yet?
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Rakesh Sharma10:28
Sir, so far there is nothing like that. As I said, the June performance was good. So the customer is still positive. Honestly, I thought June would be a bit lower because prices had increased and all around, the war, LPG shortage, you know, food inflation, etc. But the customer has been a bit resilient. And now the monsoon has started. Every year, I see that there is always some delay. So we have to see what happens. I wouldn't want to say right now whether it is positive or negative. I think we have to see how the monsoon progresses in a month or two. However, what you said is correct: if the monsoon completely fails, it will have a significant impact on the rural and semi-urban economy. But let's wait a month or so. Here in Pune today, it is raining heavily.
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Anil11:23
Oh, that's great, sir. In Pune and Mumbai, the monsoon seems to be picking up pace again. Thank you very much, sir, for giving us your time and discussing your monthly and quarterly results in detail. Discussing the updates. Thank you so much, sir.