Bajaj Auto says 72% of Freedom portfolio has not seen any price cuts

Bajaj Auto Ltd. on Thursday, December 5, responded to a UBS report dated Wednesday, that 72% of its “Freedom” portfolio has not seen any change as of date in terms of price of features as was originally envisaged at the time of its launch.

Brokerage firm UBS wrote in its note that Bajaj Auto has cut the prices of Freedom 125 entry-level variant by ₹5,000, while that of the mid-level variant has been cut by ₹10,000. The prices of select Pulsar variants have also been cut post Diwali.

Bajaj Auto said in the exchange filing that the report does not present a full or accurate picture.

The two-wheeler and three-wheeler manufacturer said that the company has actually billed 67,000 units to dealers, while the UBS note said that the dispatch figure is 80,000. Bajaj Auto said that 40,000 units have been retailed as of November 30, 2024, of which 33,000 were registered on the Vahan portal.

“The closing stock is well within the norm required for two-tiered distribution,” Bajaj Auto said.

It also clarified on the three variants of the “Freedom” models that are currently in the market.

The top variant is priced at ₹1,10,000 and accounts for 72% of the total sales.

The base variant was repriced from ₹95,000 to ₹90,000, in-line with what UBS wrote in its note. The base variant accounts of 13% of Bajaj Auto’s retail sales.

The mid variant, which is a step-up over the base model, accounts for 15% of the total sales is now priced at ₹95,000. The current product is a new / reconfigured variant has been conceptualised based on the initial feedback.

“The Pulsar portfolio has over a dozen models of which some models have been priced up and some down in the last couple of months, as part of a regular exercise to drive competitiveness and profitability,” Bajaj Auto said in its statement.

Shares of Bajaj Auto had ended 1.8% lower on Wednesday at ₹9,000. The stock has corrected over 30% from its recent peak of ₹12,477.