An interview with Rajiv Bajaj invariably turns out to be a masterclass in strategy. The conversation tends to be as much about product as about product differentiation—via innovations and, sometimes, price, too. It’s less about technology, because that is pretty much hygiene in the segments (entry-level and mid-market) that matter most in the product category that the managing director of Bajaj Auto lives and breathes—motorcycles.
What’s also impressive about Bajaj’s strategy is that he’s lived by it for the past 17 years—ever since the Pune-based company made its first, fully-indigenous, successful motorcycle: The power-packed Pulsar. Along with opening up a new market, the Pulsar sent out a message loud and clear: That Bajaj could build powerful and stylish bikes. On its own.
(This story appears in the 28 September, 2018 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)