Company:Bajaj Auto
Brand Count :215
Kristal is Bajaj Auto's latest offering in the ungeared scooter segment in India. It is a unique situation with the erstwhile king of scooters struggling to find place in the scooter m
arket which it once ruled.
Kristal is a 95 cc ungeared scooter targeted at college girls. The product was first showcased at Auto Expo 2006. This month the company has launched this new brand in the Indian Market. Kristal takes on the market leader TVS Scooty in the increasingly competitive Ladies' scooter market. Kristal is somewhere in the middle of the 75 cc Scooty and 102 cc Pleasure.
Kristal Dtsi is positioned as an "Intelligent Scooter". The brand boasts about lot of innovative features. The website of this brand focuses on 7 features that makes Kristal different. The seven features are
1.Front Fuel tank: the company says that it is the first in this segment to offer this facility.The fuel tank is in the front hence the rider needn't step out and lift the seats to fill in the petrol. Also the fuel flap opens with the turning of the ignition key that is also a great convenience to lady riders.
2.DTSI: No body knows what it means but every one has see this technology delivering in the Pulsar. Bajaj has put this technology into the new scooter and hopes that it does the magic .
3.Extra large storage space: Kristal boasts about 22lts storage space and lot of additional hooks aimed at making the product user friendly for the TG. The storage below the seat also has an automatic light (like a fridge) .
4.Pentalock: The brand has one key that opens many doors. The company has made use of the ignition key to the maximum. With a single knob , the rider can open the fuel flap,open the seat, accelerator lock ,steering lock and ignition.
5.Smart Lamp: The brand has sensors that look at the lighting conditions outside and will adjust the front and panel lights. The front light will be automatically on when you go through a tunnel or when the lighting conditions become low.
6.SNS suspension: Kristal also features Spring in Spring suspension to deliver more comfort to the riders.
7.Low battery /fuel indicators: The scooter also have battery and fuel indicators.
Bajaj has put in lot of thinking behind Kristal. The failures of earlier scooter brands like Wave, Saphire & Sunny may be still haunting the company.So they have put in all out effort to regain the lost empire. According to reports, Bajaj is planning another Male Scooter branded Blade and may launch it this year.
As a scooter with all those thoughtful features, Kristal has done it right at the product front. The brand is now being promoted through television ads that calls this brand as an Intelligent Scooter. To a certain extent, the communication is able to catch the attention of the viewers. About the size of the scooter, I have a feeling that the brand is smaller than its peers. If it is so, then Kristal will have a huge problem.
But the issue is with the price. Kristal is priced stiffly at Rs 35000 and I think if that is the price , Kristal may not succeed in the market ( my view). Why because , the features that the brand talk about doesn't justify the heavy price put on this brand. Another issue is that except for the DTSI,all the features can be copied by the competitors. Kristal may have to spent too much money convincing the customers about the value proposition. Why I am skeptical is that the TVS Scooty has strong brand equity and to match that , Kristal has a long way to go.
source: bajajauto.com
arket which it once ruled.Kristal is a 95 cc ungeared scooter targeted at college girls. The product was first showcased at Auto Expo 2006. This month the company has launched this new brand in the Indian Market. Kristal takes on the market leader TVS Scooty in the increasingly competitive Ladies' scooter market. Kristal is somewhere in the middle of the 75 cc Scooty and 102 cc Pleasure.
Kristal Dtsi is positioned as an "Intelligent Scooter". The brand boasts about lot of innovative features. The website of this brand focuses on 7 features that makes Kristal different. The seven features are
1.Front Fuel tank: the company says that it is the first in this segment to offer this facility.The fuel tank is in the front hence the rider needn't step out and lift the seats to fill in the petrol. Also the fuel flap opens with the turning of the ignition key that is also a great convenience to lady riders.
2.DTSI: No body knows what it means but every one has see this technology delivering in the Pulsar. Bajaj has put this technology into the new scooter and hopes that it does the magic .
3.Extra large storage space: Kristal boasts about 22lts storage space and lot of additional hooks aimed at making the product user friendly for the TG. The storage below the seat also has an automatic light (like a fridge) .
4.Pentalock: The brand has one key that opens many doors. The company has made use of the ignition key to the maximum. With a single knob , the rider can open the fuel flap,open the seat, accelerator lock ,steering lock and ignition.
5.Smart Lamp: The brand has sensors that look at the lighting conditions outside and will adjust the front and panel lights. The front light will be automatically on when you go through a tunnel or when the lighting conditions become low.
6.SNS suspension: Kristal also features Spring in Spring suspension to deliver more comfort to the riders.
7.Low battery /fuel indicators: The scooter also have battery and fuel indicators.
Bajaj has put in lot of thinking behind Kristal. The failures of earlier scooter brands like Wave, Saphire & Sunny may be still haunting the company.So they have put in all out effort to regain the lost empire. According to reports, Bajaj is planning another Male Scooter branded Blade and may launch it this year.
As a scooter with all those thoughtful features, Kristal has done it right at the product front. The brand is now being promoted through television ads that calls this brand as an Intelligent Scooter. To a certain extent, the communication is able to catch the attention of the viewers. About the size of the scooter, I have a feeling that the brand is smaller than its peers. If it is so, then Kristal will have a huge problem.
But the issue is with the price. Kristal is priced stiffly at Rs 35000 and I think if that is the price , Kristal may not succeed in the market ( my view). Why because , the features that the brand talk about doesn't justify the heavy price put on this brand. Another issue is that except for the DTSI,all the features can be copied by the competitors. Kristal may have to spent too much money convincing the customers about the value proposition. Why I am skeptical is that the TVS Scooty has strong brand equity and to match that , Kristal has a long way to go.
source: bajajauto.com
i agree..it might just miss the TA
ReplyDeleteWhen I am going thru the part till the discussion enters the topic of price, I thought this krystal would win over scooty and pleasure. But seeing at the price tag of 35000 it would be very difficult for bajaj to go ahead at that price. The 7 features are something that bajaj cannot have a say with...I hope cutting down the price would work in terms of market share but donno abt profit & loss......
ReplyDeleteIF I remember correctly, Kinetic Nova135 was the first scooter to feature the refrigerator type automatic lighting. Also the Nova underseat storage is still the largest.
ReplyDeleteBattery low indicators have been around here since the time of the Kinetic Honda.
So not really innovations. Bajaj shouldnt claim to be the first with these features when they are not!
This person has been using Kristal for the past 1000 odd kilometers (3 months). Given below are observations that you may find interesting:
ReplyDeleteRide:
Feels very good. You feel you are in control of the vehicle. Sluggish pickup, especially with the pillion.
Issues:
* Wobbling rear wheel
* Faulty fuel gauge, which shows full tank when only 2 litres is filled (tank capacity 4.5 litres)
* Sometimes the vehicle does not start with the kick-starter during first use of the day. (This happens sometimes even when the ignition is on for two minutes {as suggested by the mechanic} before using the kicker first-time). At these times, one has to use the electronic starter.
Service:
Purchased the vehicle from Chennai. During the time of purchase, we tried five different vehicles. All of them had wobbling rear wheels.
After purchase, we left the vehicle with them (they gave it back after about a week, in the same condition). They claimed to have changed the wheel and all.
Before delivering the vehicle, they have removed the PDI form from the manual. PDI means Pre Delivery Inspection. This vehicle has passed PDI apparently (but how, we wonder).
Now, the question is, if this is the status of parts that are visible outside to the customer, what attention would be paid by the company and its dealers to parts that are not visible, the internals!
It hurts to know that Indian companies still produce goods with less emphasis on quality. I hope that Indian companies pay real attention to providing real quality to Indians.
I say this because one of the marketing slogans in India is "Export Quality", which means anything that is meant for the Indian user can be "sub-Export Quality".
PS:
The dealer initially was not showing a keen interest in making a sale of Kristal. Obviously, they got better margins on other vehicles. Or they thought they will make the sale because it was a Bajaj.