Niraj Bajaj and Family

Bajaj Auto exports nearly half its production to over 70 countries. The Chetak scooter that started the family's mobility legacy is now electric.

Niraj Bajaj chairs Bajaj Auto, the company that made the Chetak scooter an object of aspiration for a generation of Indian middle-class families and has since remade itself into one of the world's most profitable motorcycle manufacturers. The transformation from a company known for scooters and entry-level motorcycles to a global exporter with 50% of production going to over 70 countries was not a single strategic decision but a sustained reorientation across more than two decades, driven operationally by his cousin Rajiv Bajaj.

Bajaj Auto's stake in KTM, the Austrian performance motorcycle brand, has given the group exposure to the premium global segment and a technology partnership that has influenced product development across both companies. The relationship is unusual in the Indian automotive context because it positions an Indian company not as a licensee or assembly partner for a foreign brand but as a significant shareholder with real influence over a globally respected product portfolio.