Bajaj Auto set to ride into Egypt with its "Qute" platform

Bajaj Auto set to ride into Egypt with its “Qute” platform

While Bajaj Auto boasts of outpacing the domestic industry for the second year running, it’s also making positive strides in other countries, notably Egypt.

The two-wheeler and three-wheeler major announced that the Egyptian government has formally recognized the category of quadricycles for public transportation, and Bajaj will commence the first exports of Qute to Egypt as early as this month. “The recognition of Qute opens a potentially large segment which we will steadily develop,” Bajaj Auto management said in a post-result conference call.

The company has 500,000 three-wheelers running on the streets of Egypt, and its last shipment was in April 2022. Since then, Bajaj has largely maintained its service network and stores network. “Bajaj is a very, very strong brand, almost generic and well the intention of the government of Egypt is to progressively replace all three-wheelers with quadricycles,” the management said.

But all isn’t rosy for the company. Bajaj also flagged that the currency situation in Egypt is bad and can’t start pumping out as many units as desired. The limiting factor will be the availability of the currency. However, it will export about 250 units immediately.

Last month, the Egyptian pound experienced a significant decline against the dollar following the Central Bank of Egypt’s decision to raise its main interest rate and adopt a market-driven exchange rate mechanism.

These measures were aimed at addressing inflationary pressures and attracting foreign investment, particularly in response to the country’s acute shortage of foreign currency.

Meanwhile, on the EV two-wheeler front, the company said it is still long away from being profitable at the unit level even with the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI), said Dinesh Thapar, Chief Financial Officer of Bajaj Auto. “Will PLI, in the case of electric two-wheeler, lead to unit level profitability? The answer is no. We are still some distance away,” Thapar said in the conference call after the company posted its Q4 results.