Bajaj has opened a facility for its fans to watch the unveiling of Dominar, it’s new sub-brand of motorcycles that will sit above the Pulsar range.
The first Dominar 400, the first of the line-up, will be launched tomorrow (Thursday) at 12 PM and you can watch the unveiling below.
The first motorcycle carrying the brand was rolled out from Bajaj Auto’s Chakan Plant on 18th November.
Dominar is a derivation from a Spanish word which means “to excel or exceed in power”.
The new line-up will be its “biggest and most powerful motorcycle”, the company has said.
The Dominar is based on the earlier prototype known as Pulsar CSS400.
It will come with the 373cc engine from KTM’s Duke 390 motorcycle, a model that has a top speed of 169 km per hour.
The new line-up of bikes will use the technical knowhow gained by Bajaj via its investment in Europe-based KTM Sports Motorcycle.
It picked up a 48% stake in the Austrian bike maker in 2008, when the latter was on the verge of a shutdown due to the impact of the global financial crisis.
While the investment helped KTM overcome the global financial crisis, it gave Bajaj an entry point into the world of high-end motorcycles.
Bajaj and KTM have since opened several exclusive KTM showrooms in the country and sold tens of thousands of the high-end bikes.
The Duke 390 is one of the most successful launches by the European brand in India and costs around Rs 2 lakh.
Dominar 400 is likely to have a price of around Rs 1.2-1.5 lakh — thus occupying the space between pulsar and KTM bikes.
The Rs 1-2 lakh premium segment sees brisk volumes in India, and is dominated by Royal Enfield, a unit of Eicher Motors.
While RE has so far enjoyed an almost monopolistic market presence in the retro-premium category in India, Kawasaki is all set to launch its W800, a 773cc retro-look motorcycle that is expected to be priced around the Rs 4 lakh.
Kawasaki is also expected to launch several premium sports bikes next month, which will compete with similar models from Yamaha and Suzuki, and Dominar.
Yet, Bajaj is likely to have an edge over brands like Yamaha and Kawasaki as it is a fully Indian brand and knows how to price its offerings at attractive levels compared to MNC brands.