Bajaj-Renault-Nissan low cost car:

Bajaj-Renault-Nissan low cost car to be launched in India in Early 2010

Issues Analysis: 

1. Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto wants that the car should not have a Renault or Nissan name though it is a joint venture between the three companies. According to him, when Bajaj had launched it motor bikes with Kawasaki-Bajaj Brand name, they were not successful to the liking of the company. But when Bajaj went alone with Bajaj Pulsar, it was a stupendous success. 

This is a clear case of attributing the wrong cause to the effect. Pulsar wasn’t a success due to Bajaj brand name. It was a success because people liked the styling of it and bought it. They realized that the performance of the bike is also very good. This resulted in positive word-of-mouth publicity for the bike and it became a super success. He point is that Kawasaki- Bajaj the previous brand name wasn’t responsible for the failure of those bikes, rather it was the performance. So the cause is wrong. 

2. The other problem here is that it seems a comparison of apples to oranges i.e. bikes to cars. 

Bajaj manufactures scoters. It was an organic transition to bikes since the Indian Demographics were changing towards young people who wanted bikes. 

Moreover a four wheeler is a product which Bajaj is not known for and it has never manufactured. So it needs Renault –Nissan brand name to make a mark. 

3. Rajiv Bajaj wants to focus on the Safety attribute of the car.

This could be a perfect positioning since Tata Nano has already positioned itself as the lowest priced car. The safety aspect can be showed in the Ad through safety tests and there presence of Air-bags which no small car in India has at the moment. 

4. Mass customization can be tried for this car. The Indian customers have never experienced it and thus can be a novel idea. This will allow them to increase the price of the car by giving additional features such as upholstery, car accessories etc. By announcing free of cost services, it can act as sales promotion, which is an important factor considering the price conscious customers who are the target market for the car.