Bajaj Auto shares surge 2% on launch of new Pulsar NS400Z

Shares of Bajaj Auto surged as much as 1.6% apiece on the BSE to hit an intraday high of ₹9,252.50, after the country’s two-wheeler manufacturer launched the new Pulsar NS400Z at a starting price of ₹1.85 lakh.

The scrip opened higher at ₹9,115.85, as against the previous closing price of ₹9,103.80. At 12:59 pm, the share price of the company was trading 0.65% higher at ₹9,120.85. In contrast to this, the broader BSE Sensex was trading 923.72 points or 1.24% lower at 73,687.39. The company’s market capitalisation stood at ₹2,55,804.04 crore, with 9,753 shares exchanging hands on the BSE, as against the two-week average of 0.17 lakh shares. The company hit a 52-week high of ₹9,356 on April 2 this year, and a 52-week low of ₹4,427.30 on May 5 last year.

In the past one month, three months and one year, the counter has surged 0.99%, 18.51% and 106.27%, respectively. In the year-to-date period, the counter has surged 36.84%.

The Pulsar NS400Z will lock horns with the likes of the Dominor 400, KTM 390 Duke and the Triumph Speed 400. Touted to be the ‘biggest’ Pulsar—NS400Z is powered by a 373 engine. Bajaj Pulsar already has a strong presence in the 120-125 cc and 150 cc segment. Notably, the 373 engine also powered KTM 390 Duke until last year. The newly launched Pulsar is reportedly borrowing its underpinnings from Dominar 400 and the Pulsar NS200.

With the latest upgrades, the newly launched offering boasts a ‘Ride by Wire’ electronic throttle, a switchable traction control system, full LED lighting, a digital instrument cluster with a separate display for turn-by-turn navigation, Bluetooth connectivity as well as four ride modes—Sports, Rain, Road and Offroad.

As the competition amongst the domestic two-wheeler manufacturers increases, Bajaj Auto plans to lure new customers with Pulsar NS400Z.

Pulsar has been one of the most popular offering since its launch in 2001 by the company amongst consumer. The company has so far sold approximately 1.8 crore Pulsar in the domestic market, thus earning ₹10,000 crore for the company so far. Notably, Pulsar accounted for 33% of Bajaj Auto’s total sales in FY23.

In the January to March quarter of FY24, the company’s net profit surged 35.11% year-on-year to ₹1,936 crore in Q4 FY24, compared to ₹1,433 crore profit in the same period last fiscal, driven by sustained domestic business and steady margins. The company’s two-wheeler sales increased by 26% YoY to 9,16,817 units as against 7,25,405 units in the same period lasr year.

Meanwhile, in FY24, the sales of two-wheelers increased from 37,27,923 units as against 34,42,839 units in FY23.