Bajaj Might Discontinue Production Of The V15: Here’s Why It Makes Sense

Bajaj might discontinue the V15 premium commuter motorcycle. According to media reports, Bajaj Auto might discontinue production of the Bajaj V15 due to poor sales numbers and also due to the upcoming safety norms.

According to safety norms that would be brought into place starting 01 April, 2019, All motorcycles with engine capacity up to 125cc will need to be equipped with a CBS (Combined Braking System) and those above the 125cc mark will need to have ABS.

Most motorcycle manufacturers have already added these safety features to its motorcycles and those left out are doing the same. Bajaj is also one of the motorcycle manufacturers that has worked on almost all products it sells. We recently reported that Bajaj had upgraded the Discover 125 with CBS, and had also teased the launch of the Avenger 180 ABS.

However, there has been no update from Bajaj regarding the V15, and that can only signal the discontinuation of the product. The Bajaj V15 was sold as a premium commuter. It sold very well initially thanks to the way Bajaj marketed the motorcycle.

Bajaj Auto bought a large chunk of the metal from the scrapped heroic Indian Warship INS Vikrant and added some of that metal into each Bajaj V15. The 'V' moniker too was derived from the name Vikrant.

The INS Vikrant was once the flagship warship of the Indian Navy and played a huge role in India's victory of the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war and as a result, Indians had high regards for the ship.

Upon learning that the Bajaj V15 contained metal from that warship, middle-class Indians looking for a premium commuter bike flocked to dealerships and purchased the motorcycle. But this attraction soon faded away and the Bajaj V15 started bringing in dismal sales numbers.

The poor sales numbers was due to the fact that the Bajaj V15 was priced higher than most commuter bikes. If Bajaj were to add a single-channel ABS to the V15 like it did with the Pulsar 150 and Pulsar 180, sales of the Bajaj V15 would drop further, and hence this decision to stop production of the V15.

Thoughts On Bajaj V15' Production Ending

The new safety regulations will end the production of quite a few motorcycles. All motorcycle manufacturers will rethink on the motorcycles that they have in their product line-up as it does not make sense to develop ABS or CBS for a product that is already selling in low numbers.