Rajiv Bajaj, MD, Bajaj Auto, had said his company would not make any more entry segment bikes after the Platina, its last 100cc offering in 2006, as it planned to move into volume based 110cc and primarily 125cc segments.

But things didn’t go according to plan as the auto market was gripped by a severe slowdown in 2008 and sales of premium bikes declined drastically.

This meant a new lease of life for cheaper and fuel-efficient models and Bajaj's rival Hero Honda cashed in big time. Bajaj adamantly stuck to its guns and refused to push cheaper and entry bikes.

To Bajaj’s surprise the company’s Platina brand sold 4500 units per month while Hero Honda Splendor sold 1 lakh units.

As a change in strategy Bajaj has announced a new 100cc offering preferring to bank on the trusted ‘Discover’ brand name. Bajaj is beginning production of the new 100cc Discover DTSi by the July 17 and it will be in showrooms by the July 27.

"One of our problems was to do with very low margins. Discover bike was invariably priced from Rs 48,000 to Rs 50,000 as compared to other 100 cc bikes, and today we are positioning the 100cc bike as a long distance bike for a 100 cc customer," said S Sridhar, CEO-two wheelers of Bajaj Auto.

So will the latest gamble work? Most analysts point out that Bajaj might have little choice but the trick would be to ensure its bigger bike portfolio remains strong, which explains the slew of relaunches in the Pulsar family of motorcycles over the past few weeks.