At the SIAM convention yesterday, Minister for Transport, Mr.Nitin Gadkari made an announcement of moving to a "no-permit" regime for auto rickshaws powered by Alternate Fuels. This has really spurred and motivated Bajaj Auto.

The company has issued a Presser stating that over the last 12 months, there has been an up-surge in three wheeler demand in India, owing mainly to permits released in Maharashtra, Karnataka, AP and Delhi. Consequently during the period Sept 17 to Aug 18, Bajaj Auto has sold 435,000 three wheelers representing a growth of 88% and has strengthened its leadership in this segment.

Bajaj is the market leader with 86% market share in the alternate fuel 3 wheelers and is therefore delighted with this development. This announcement gives further fillip for the Bajaj Qute, which comes with CNG / LPG fuel options, as more and more state governments approve the Qute for taxi applications.

And to capitalize on these positive developments, Bajaj is planning to enhance its production capacities of 3 wheelers and Quadricycles to 1 million per year.

The market is enthusiastic too and the stock price rose over 3.2% to Rs.2874.50.