According to a Business Standard report that cited vehicle data, Bajaj Auto Ltd has seen a 68% increase in sales of its compressed natural gas (CNG) motorcycle, the Freedom 125, till October 2024, compared to September.
According to the report, 8,310 units registered is the highest number of sales that the Freedom (which is India’s first CNG-powered production motorcycle) has garnered since its launch in July this year.
The report says that Bajaj plans to increase wholesales to 30,000 units in the third quarter of this fiscal and to 40,000 units in the fourth quarter.
As per Bikewale’s data, this is especially true for the base model, which is priced at Rs 95,055 (average ex-showroom), while the top-spec model costs Rs 1,10,055.
The report said the model accounted for 1.3% of all two-wheelers registered in Delhi in September, while nationally it has a share of 0.6%. Its top markets currently include Delhi, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
The report quoted Bajaj Auto vice president Rakesh Sharma as saying that the Freedom 125’s market share will be equal to that of electric two-wheelers. However, the Freedom has one big advantage over electric vehicles. Its small two-litre petrol tank relieves range anxiety if there is no CNG filling station available nearby.
The report said that currently there are more than 4,650 CNG stations in over 365 cities across India.
The report quoted analysts at brokerage firm Anand Rathi as saying that bike sales are expected to reach 2,40,000 in financial year 2024-25, which will be 6% of the total domestic two-wheeler sales.
Though the Freedom doesn’t have any direct competitors at the moment, TVS had already announced that they will be entering this segment but nothing has been seen so far.
