Bajaj Auto is currently one of the very few indigenous automobile companies in the country. It was started as a part of Bajaj groups in the year 1945. It initially sold only imported 2 and 3 wheelers. Bajaj established itself in the market, thanks to the very successful Bajaj Chetak. Bajaj auto changed the motorcycle market in the country almost a decade ago when they introduced the now established, Pulsar, the highest cc bike in India at the time. The 150cc offering by Bajaj forced other international companies to launch more powerful bikes at competitive prices in the country which eventually led to the increased sales of superbikes in the country.
All the while, Bajaj also dominated the lower end, commuter segment in the country with many inexpensive and fuel-efficient offerings, the most popular one being the Platina. The 100 cc, inexpensive bike dominated the market until recently. Honda and Hero, since their separation 2 years back, have been pushing aggressively and releasing new bikes ranging from cheap ones like the old but gold Hero Splendor and Passion, to the bolder and more powerful bikes like the Karizma ZMR, to grab a bigger share of the ever growing 2 wheeler market in the country.
To maintain its hold on the market and retain its position as one of the biggest names, Bajaj has been releasing new bikes and also revamped versions of their old and popular offerings. The newest addition to this effort being the recently launched Bajaj Platina ES.
The ES in the revamped Bajaj Platina ES stands for Electric Start. It is one of the very few bikes in its segment that come with an electric start. Platina is one of the oldest offerings by Bajaj and a very successful one too. But it had been experiencing a drop in its usual high demand because of the newer and more powerful Honda's Dream and Hero's Splendor.
To change this, the new Platina comes with an all new 102cc single-cylinder engine which is powered by Bajaj's homegrown DTSi and ExhausTEC technology. The new Bajaj Discover 100M also comes equipped with the same engine, but it is tuned to churn out more power. The 102 cc engine is capable of generating 8bhp power and 8.7 Nm. The new Platina ES claims to be the most fuel efficient bike in the country.
The 2015 Platina ES is marketed as the 'World's Mileage Champion' by Bajaj. According to the official release, the new Platina returns a mind-boggling average of 96.9 Km/l( ARAI certified). Platina's mileage is significantly more than what any other bike in the segment offers. The Platina ES retails at an ex-showroom price of Rs 44,507.
The new Platina ES isn't much different from the older bike in terms of design. Though there are a few changes all over the bike. The headlight is revamped and given a more a sharper and bolder design. The graphics are changed and look more appealing. The bike comes with new side panels and a new exhaust.
Image Source : BA
