Rajiv Bajaj's Comment On KTM & Manufacturing In Europe Gathers Steam

Rajiv Bajaj is trending, apparently on a weekend. The reason could be attributed to some of his recent comments. The 58-year old Chief of Pune based Bajaj Auto has been known to speak his mind. From GST to make in India to Tariffs, Bajaj has offered simpler and honest takes on a wide-variety of complex topics.

During the weekend, comments from his most recent interaction with a TV Business channel captured social media attention. Trends for KTM the popular motorcycle brand could also be seen rising in social media channels. Thereby, implying that perhaps Rajiv Bajaj's comments about KTM were being read and shared by netizens.

In the interview that Bajaj had with that TV channel, he had explained how exports-volume for Bajaj Auto had picked up in recent times. He had also explained how his company was able to source rare earth metals - that which many in India's auto sector had been grappling for sometime now. Bajaj openly admitted that the automobile giant had no problems in sourcing them from China.

Elaborating about KTM, Bajaj made comparisons to how Triumph had shifted its production line-up to Thailand and benefitted from the strategy. During the same interview, Bajaj was asked about KTM brand in which Bajaj Auto is planning to infuse Rs 7,200 crores. Bajaj Auto is a majority shareholder in KTM, owning 75 percent stake in the Austrian brand.

Bajaj's association with KTM and Triumph is no open secret, but netizens have been anxious to know about KTM's plant in Austria. Apparently, the KTM plant in Austria, Europe had to halt production citing lack of missing critical parts.

Netizens seem to be metaphorically reading between the lines of Rajiv Bajaj's statements in the interview. While he indeed had commented that manufacturing in "Europe was dead" the "dead" word could have also been a reference to being "unviable".

Netizens, however, seem to be misinterpreting and believing that perhaps KTM could shut its Austrian facility.

Moving production to India could be a huge advantage to Indian automotive sector and consumers, however exporting to America and rest of world given the tariffs may require some strategizing. Bajaj Auto is yet to announce any clarification to this regards.

In the same interaction, Bajaj had expressed confidence about India's growth story and how export potential of Bajaj Auto had improved in recent years. Bajaj Auto is a heavyweight stock in Indian financial markets.