Bajaj Auto Limited

Bajaj Auto is above all a vehicle maker, with a growing lending arm and a large investment portfolio adding profit. The segment figures do not split out domestic, export, electric or KTM profit, and the automotive result also contains the KTM accounting items, so which vehicle lines earn most is not shown.

Bajaj Auto earns almost all its money from making and selling motorcycles, three-wheelers and spare parts: in 2025-26 the automotive segment brought in ₹60,530.43 crore of the group's ₹65,087.22 crore of revenue and other income, and ₹12,016.19 crore of its ₹14,211.75 crore segment result.^[1][2] It sold 5,117,667 vehicles, 4,316,850 of them two-wheelers and 800,817 commercial vehicles (mainly three-wheelers), and 2,250,183 went for export.^[3] Exports brought in ₹20,416 crore of the parent company's ₹58,732.48 crore revenue from operations, and electric vehicles more than ₹8,000 crore, which the company says is over 20% of domestic sales.^[4][5][6] The other two segments are vehicle loans through Bajaj Auto Credit (revenue ₹3,247.61 crore, result ₹888.58 crore) and the income from its large investment portfolio (revenue ₹1,309.18 crore, result ₹1,306.98 crore).^[1][2]

Ranked first: every other finding depends on knowing that Bajaj Auto is mainly a vehicle maker, now with a lending arm and, since this year, KTM.

KTM turns Bajaj Auto from a debt-free vehicle maker into a group that includes an indebted, loss-making European business, so KTM's recovery now affects group results directly. The reports cover only a few months of ownership, too short to show whether the turnaround will deliver what the company describes.

After putting €880 million of equity and loans into KTM's court-supervised restructuring in Austria, Bajaj Auto took full control of KTM's holding company in November 2025, raising its stake from 49.9% to 100%; that company owns 74.94% of the listed Bajaj Mobility AG, which owns KTM AG.^[1][2][3][4] The accounts value the deal at ₹4,456.04 crore: ₹524.09 crore paid by exercising a call option on an existing loan, plus ₹3,931.95 crore as the fair value of the 49.9% stake already held, and the KTM group brought ₹9,562.82 crore of borrowings with it.^[5][6] From the acquisition date, the KTM group added ₹1,296.23 crore of revenue and ₹871.86 crore of losses before tax to the group.^[7][8] For calendar 2025 KTM's listed parent reported net profit of €590 million, which the company says was supported by a restructuring gain of €1,193 million.^[9] The company says the turnaround is well underway but remains work in progress.^[10]

The KTM takeover is the biggest change to the group this year, and its losses, borrowings and accounting gains run through findings 3, 4, 9 and 20, so it comes straight after the basic picture of the business.

Comparing group profit with the year before overstates the improvement in the underlying business; the standalone figures give the cleaner view. Because the report describes the ₹953.10 crore gain in two ways, how much of the group profit it explains is uncertain, and no group profit figure excluding all KTM items is given.

Bajaj Auto's own (standalone) profit came from normal operations: profit after tax rose 20.5% to ₹9,825 crore, and the only exceptional item was a net charge of ₹23.80 crore.^[1][2] Group profit rose 47% to ₹10,744 crore, helped by accounting items linked to KTM: KTM's results while it was still an associate were a loss of ₹1,038.07 crore, but the table of those results adds a ₹953.10 crore gain on revaluing the stake already held and ₹645.71 crore of past currency gains, giving a net credit of ₹560.74 crore.^[3][4] The note beside that table says the revaluation gain was recognised in other comprehensive income rather than in profit, and the report does not reconcile the two descriptions.^[5] A year earlier the same line was a net loss of ₹915.48 crore, after a ₹600.93 crore impairment.^[4]

The rise in group profit is the figure most readers see first, and the reports show much of it comes from one-off KTM accounting that is itself described two ways; it follows finding 2 because it is one consequence of the takeover.

Group debt is now material, but much of it funds a loan book that earns interest, so it is not directly comparable with a manufacturer's borrowing. The reports do not total the borrowings of the lending arm and of the KTM side separately, so KTM's own debt burden cannot be measured from them.

Bajaj Auto itself has no bank debt (debt-equity ratio 0.00), but the group's borrowings rose to ₹21,981 crore at the end of March 2026 from ₹9,237 crore, and net debt to ₹18,909 crore from ₹6,389 crore.^[1][2] The borrowings sit in subsidiaries, chiefly the lending arm, whose vehicle loans reached ₹18,834.68 crore, and the KTM side of the group, which had drawn about €473 million of a €550 million bank facility.^[3][4] Set against this, group profit before tax was ₹13,951.54 crore, finance costs were ₹1,168.59 crore (₹388.90 crore a year earlier) and group operating cash flow was ₹2,596.60 crore.^[5][6][7] The company's gearing ratio, net debt divided by equity plus net debt, rose to 31.98% from 15.37%.^[2]

Group borrowings rose sharply in a company long known for having no debt, which changes how its balance sheet should be read; it is Mixed rather than Needs attention because much of the debt funds an interest-earning loan book.

The vehicle business converts profit into cash, while the group's lending growth absorbs cash that has to be borrowed. Two years of figures cannot show whether group cash flow will improve as the loan book matures.

At Bajaj Auto itself profit turns into cash: operating cash flow was ₹8,961.24 crore in 2025-26 against profit of ₹9,824.66 crore, and ₹7,266.73 crore against ₹8,151.42 crore the year before.^[1][2] The company puts its free cash flow at over ₹8,000 crore.^[3] For the group the picture is different: operating cash flow was ₹2,596.60 crore against profit of ₹10,744.21 crore, after an outflow of ₹1,405.57 crore the year before.^[4][5] The main item behind the gap is the lending arm's growing loan book, which is counted as an operating outflow: the increase in loans and other assets used ₹10,370.85 crore (₹9,848.16 crore a year earlier).^[6]

The gap between group profit and group operating cash is large, but the reports explain it by the lending arm's growth and show the parent turning profit into cash; it sits just below the borrowing in finding 4 that the gap helps explain.

The parent's cash and investments give it room to fund its own spending, the KTM support and the proposed payouts. The surplus is measured for the parent; the reports do not show how much of it is set aside to support KTM or the lending arm in future.

Yes, at the parent company: Bajaj Auto reports surplus cash and cash equivalents of ₹18,137 crore at the end of March 2026, 6.7% more than a year earlier, after about ₹500 crore of capital spending, more than ₹2,300 crore put into Bajaj Auto Credit and the KTM holding company, and about ₹5,900 crore of dividends.^[1] Its balance sheet held ₹1,220.56 crore of cash, ₹7,472.75 crore of current investments and ₹16,936.64 crore of longer-term investments, which the company says go into highly rated securities and bank and finance-company deposits.^[2][3][4] Its current ratio was 1.71 (1.49 a year earlier), and its bank facilities are rated CRISIL AAA.^[5][6] The largest calls on this cash are the proposed final dividend of ₹4,192.47 crore and a share buyback of up to ₹5,632.80 crore, both subject to shareholder approval.^[7][8]

The parent's cash and investments stand behind the group's new borrowing, the KTM turnaround and the proposed payouts, so they temper findings 2 to 5; the evidence is strong, and the finding sits after the risks it offsets. Funding of the stated plans is taken further in finding 25.

Growth now leans on exports, three-wheelers and electric vehicles while the largest home product line loses ground. Market share alone does not show profitability, and the reports give no profit figures by product line.

The weak spot is Bajaj Auto's main home market: its domestic motorcycle sales grew 0.6% to 2,043,316 in 2025-26 while the market grew 6.6%, and its share fell to 15.6% from 16.6%, after 18.2% two years earlier.^[1] The company puts this down to more intense competition, especially in entry-level and mid-range commuter motorcycles.^[2] Other lines strengthened: export volumes rose 20.8% to 2,250,183, with commercial vehicles up 49.2%, and the company says it held 73.8% of India's market for petrol, diesel and gas three-wheelers.^[3][4] Its Chetak electric scooter's market share edged up to 20.7%.^[5]

Losing home motorcycle share again is the main weakness in the core business, but it ranks below findings 4 to 6, which are less worrying in themselves, because those concern the group's whole financial position, while growth in exports, three-wheelers and electric vehicles has so far made up for this loss.

The vehicle business collects reliably; the credit risk sits in the young lending book, where bad loans and write-offs rose faster than the book itself. With the lending arm only in its second year of full operation, the reports cannot show what losses will settle at over a full credit cycle.

Dealers and distributors are not taking longer to pay Bajaj Auto: its trade receivables turned over 22.47 times in 2025-26 against 21.91, and of ₹2,730.63 crore of gross receivables, ₹2,709.17 crore sat in the most recent ageing band.^[1][2] Collection difficulty shows instead at the lending arm, Bajaj Auto Credit: loans in the worst credit stage (stage three) rose to ₹349.21 crore from ₹76.08 crore, while its total loans grew to ₹18,834.68 crore from ₹9,503.28 crore.^[3][4] It wrote off ₹249.81 crore of loans, against ₹39.04 crore the year before, and held a loss allowance of ₹385.13 crore.^[5][6][3] The company reports gross non-performing assets of 1.85% and net non-performing assets of 1.00%.^[7]

Bad loans and write-offs at Bajaj Auto Credit grew faster than its fast-growing book, the main credit risk in the group; it ranks below findings 4 to 6 because the lending arm is still small beside the vehicle business, and its loan-loss provisions are also a key audit matter in finding 15.

Much of the near-term debt rolls over with the lending arm's loan book, which is normal for a lender, while KTM's covenants tie its recovery to lender tests. The reports do not give KTM's current net debt-to-EBITDA ratio, so the headroom under the covenant cannot be judged.

Within a year the group must repay or refinance ₹6,641.65 crore of current borrowings, including ₹5,769.71 crore of long-term loans falling due.^[1][2] Two euro bank loans, of €50 million and €30 million, were due in full in May 2026, while the KTM group's €473 million loan is repaid quarterly from June 2027.^[3][4] The KTM loans carry covenants, starting with net debt of no more than 4.5 times EBITDA in June 2027, and the company says the KTM group has no indication it will have difficulty complying.^[5][6] The lending arm's borrowings require Bajaj Auto to keep at least 51% of its shares, and the company reports no covenant breaches in the year.^[7][8]

With the borrowing in finding 4, the group now has real refinancing needs and, at KTM, lender covenants whose headroom is not disclosed; it follows the loan quality in finding 8 because most near-term repayments roll over with the loan book.

The electric business depends on parts whose supply another country's policy can cut, although the quick redesign shows the company can respond. The reports do not say what the disruption cost in lost sales or profit.

Yes, for at least one critical part: the company says China's export restrictions on rare-earth magnets disrupted supply in the first half of 2025-26 and held back Chetak electric scooter volumes even though demand was strong.^[1] Its technology subsidiary designed motors using light rare-earth magnets and found other sources, restoring supply by the end of September 2025.^[2] Chetak domestic sales still grew 16% to 302,674 units, after 125% growth the year before.^[3] The company lists reducing supply constraints, through more capacity and alternative materials and sources, among its priorities for the coming year.^[4]

Not stated in the reports: The reports do not name the company's main suppliers, say how much it buys from any one of them or from China, or give the cost of the disruption.

An actual supply disruption during the year, which the manufacturer framework puts near the top; it ranks below the less worrying findings 4 to 6 and 9 because supply was restored within the year and the disruption touched mainly one product line, the electric scooter, though its cost is not given.

Growth was broad and led by volumes and exports, with help from currency and a tax cut that may not repeat. The reports do not split growth into exact volume, price and currency effects.

Revenue is growing: Bajaj Auto's standalone revenue from operations rose 17.4% to ₹58,732 crore in 2025-26, on sales of 5,117,667 vehicles against 4,650,966.^[1][2] Exports grew fastest, up 25.6% in rupees to ₹20,416 crore and 20.2% in dollars, which the company puts down to higher volumes and a currency tailwind, while domestic revenue grew 13%.^[3][4][5] The company says a richer sales mix and better currency realisation added to growth, and that the September 2025 cut in GST on motorcycles up to 350cc, from 28% to 18%, lifted the second half.^[6][7] Group revenue from operations rose to ₹62,905.00 crore from ₹50,994.55 crore, including ₹1,296.23 crore from KTM after its acquisition.^[8][9]

Growth is clear, broad and well explained, so it informs more than it worries; it sits after the open risks above it, and its reliance on currency, incentives and a tax cut is taken up in findings 12 and 13.

The vehicle business held its margins while growing, but part of the support came from the exchange rate and from government incentives that nearly doubled, both of which can change. The reports give no margin for KTM or the group on the same basis, and do not give the incentive schemes' terms.

Margins improved slightly: the standalone EBITDA margin was 20.5% against 20.2%, and the operating profit margin 19.6% against 19.3%.^[1][2] The company credits a better dollar-rupee rate, a more profitable mix and operating leverage, which it says more than offset the growth of lower-margin electric scooters and spending to compete.^[3] Materials, the largest cost, fell to 70.0% of revenue from 70.6%.^[4] Looking ahead, the company warns of margin pressure from rising commodity costs, and the chairman says the challenges are particularly pronounced at the start of the new financial year.^[5][6] The revenue on which the margin is calculated includes government incentives under the PSI and PLI schemes of ₹1,040.09 crore, against ₹527.30 crore a year earlier, which the company does not mention in explaining the margin.^[7]

Margins are stable, but part of their support comes from currency and from incentive income that the company's explanation leaves out, hence Mixed; it sits directly above finding 13, which looks at that incentive income.

Part of the vehicle business's profit comes from government schemes rather than from selling vehicles, and such schemes can change or end. Because the reports do not give their terms, how long this income will last cannot be judged.

Government incentives have become a sizeable part of Bajaj Auto's own (standalone) revenue: incentives under the PSI and PLI schemes were ₹1,040.09 crore in 2025-26, against ₹527.30 crore a year earlier.^[1] The 2024-25 report shows how recent this is: the production-linked incentive (PLI) was ₹466.59 crore that year, against ₹0.41 crore the year before, and the Package Scheme of Incentives (PSI) ₹60.71 crore.^[2] Export incentives added ₹571.56 crore (₹468.62 crore); all of these are booked as other operating revenue, part of the revenue from operations of ₹58,732 crore from which the EBITDA of ₹12,019 crore is calculated.^[3][4][5][7] Incentives due from the government but not yet received rose to ₹1,133.94 crore from ₹983.14 crore.^[6] Policy also supported demand: the company says the September 2025 cut in GST on motorcycles up to 350cc, from 28% to 18%, lifted the second half.^[8]

Not stated in the reports: The reports do not say which products or plants the incentives relate to, what conditions they carry, or when the schemes end.

Incentive income nearly doubled, sits inside the revenue and margin figures, and the schemes' terms are not given; it ranks below the less worrying findings 11 and 12 because it is one part of those figures and its effect is best read through them.

The KTM rescue money moved through related-party channels before shareholders approved it, although they later backed it by a large majority. The annual report gives the cap and the approval but refers to a separate notice for the detail of what was transacted.

The largest related-party dealings were with KTM: shareholders were asked to approve deals of up to €865 million between Bajaj Auto's Dutch subsidiary and the KTM companies, which were related parties because Bajaj Auto then held about 37.4% of KTM indirectly.^[1][2] Approval was sought after the event, which the secretarial auditor noted as its only remark; shareholders who were not related parties approved the deals on 16 August 2025 with 98.37% of the vote.^[3][4] Bajaj Auto also had loans of ₹1,634.92 crore outstanding to its Dutch subsidiary (₹1,059.03 crore a year earlier).^[5] Bajaj Holdings & Investment, which held 34.19% of the shares at the year-end (34.21% a year earlier), received ₹2,006.49 crore of dividends, and the company says all its related-party transactions were in the ordinary course of business and at arm's length.^[6][7][8]

A governance exception recorded by the secretarial auditor: large KTM transactions approved after the event; it ranks below the less worrying operating findings 11 and 12 because shareholders later approved the deals by a large majority and the sums involved are part of the KTM support in finding 2.

The auditors issued unmodified opinions. Much of the new KTM business was audited by other firms, and the adverse remarks on Bajaj Auto Credit are listed but not explained, so what they concern is not known from the reports.

The auditors issued unmodified opinions, with no qualification, and reported no key audit matters for Bajaj Auto's own accounts.^[1][2] In the group accounts they highlighted three key audit matters: the accounting for the KTM acquisition, loan-loss provisions at the lending arm, and the removal of factored KTM receivables from the balance sheet.^[3][4][5] They relied on other auditors for 73 subsidiaries with total assets of ₹39,190.53 crore.^[6][7] The audit reports under India's Companies (Auditor's Report) Order on Bajaj Auto Credit contain qualified or adverse remarks under four clauses, which the annual report lists without explaining.^[8] The directors report that internal financial controls were adequate and operating effectively.^[9]

The audit opinions are unmodified and the key audit matters point to the KTM and lending issues already ranked higher in findings 2 and 8; the unexplained adverse remarks on Bajaj Auto Credit keep it Mixed. The controls side is taken further in finding 27.

Apart from the planned payouts, which are to come from the parent's cash, the other obligations are modest and mostly arrived with KTM. Factoring makes KTM's receivables and borrowing look smaller than they would otherwise be, and the reports do not show how this affects KTM's own debt figures.

Beyond borrowings, the group has lease liabilities of ₹469.07 crore long-term and ₹190.19 crore short-term (none a year earlier), bank guarantees of ₹48.87 crore and capital commitments of ₹186.30 crore.^[1][2][3][4] KTM also sells receivables under a factoring programme: ₹889.49 crore had been factored without recourse at 31 December 2025, though the KTM group still bears credit risk up to a set amount.^[5] A comfort letter that Bajaj Mobility gave to Erste Group Bank in August 2024 is under legal clarification, though management does not expect a significant outflow.^[6] After the year-end, on 06 May 2026, the board approved a share buyback of up to 4,694,000 shares at ₹12,000 each, up to ₹5,632.80 crore, alongside a proposed final dividend of ₹4,192.47 crore.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Obligations beyond borrowing are small beside the cash reported, apart from the proposed payouts, which finding 24 examines; KTM's factoring is the less visible item. Events since the year-end are taken further in finding 26.

At Bajaj Auto itself stock turnover was little changed, so there is no clear sign of excess stock; KTM, however, brings a large inventory that has already needed write-downs. The reports do not say how much of the group write-down relates to KTM or how old KTM's remaining stock is.

At Bajaj Auto itself, inventory rose to ₹2,353.70 crore from ₹1,957.90 crore and turned over 19.10 times in the year against 19.34.^[1][2] Write-downs to net realisable value cost ₹101.92 crore, against a net gain of ₹45.90 crore the year before.^[3] Group inventory rose to ₹6,294.49 crore from ₹2,077.36 crore, as KTM brought ₹4,764.29 crore of stock with it, and group write-downs were ₹707.71 crore.^[4][5][6] The company says KTM cut its stock to 147,427 vehicles from 248,580 during 2025.^[7]

Inventory matters for a manufacturer and KTM's write-downs are notable, but the parent's stock shows no sign of building up, so it ranks below the cash, debt and governance findings.

The disclosed amounts are broadly unchanged from a year earlier and small beside the cash the company reports, and the directors see no threat to operations. The reports give no breakdown by case or likely outcome, so individual rulings cannot be assessed.

The directors say that no regulator, court or tribunal passed an order that could affect the company's going concern status or its future operations.^[1] The disputes it discloses are mainly about tax: at the end of March 2026 the parent company listed income-tax matters of ₹1,089.12 crore (₹1,091.80 crore a year earlier), excise, service tax, GST and customs disputes of ₹676.92 crore, VAT and sales-tax disputes of ₹93.33 crore and other claims of ₹231.55 crore as contingent liabilities.^[2] Claims by temporary workmen are also pending before courts and appeal authorities.^[3] The company says an outflow is not probable in any of these cases and has made no provision.^[4]

The disputes are broadly unchanged from the year before, small beside the cash reported, and no order threatens operations, so the finding serves mainly as a check.

There is no sign of dependence on a single buyer, but the business depends on vehicle finance being available. Without figures for the largest distributors or countries, concentration in individual export markets cannot be measured.

Bajaj Auto sells through dealers in India and distributors abroad, who the annual report says are generally its customers, but it does not say how much any single dealer or distributor buys.^[1] Sales are spread widely: its vehicles are sold in over 100 countries, and the group's revenue and other income was ₹42,920.23 crore from India and ₹22,166.99 crore from the rest of the world.^[2][3] Its motorcycles held the No. 1 position in 9 of its 15 key export markets.^[4] Demand at home depends on credit, with nearly 65% to 75% of two- and three-wheelers in India bought with finance, which is why the company runs its own lender.^[5]

Not stated in the reports: The reports do not give the share of sales made to the largest dealers, distributors or export countries.

The manufacturer framework gives this question weight, but the reports show broad distribution and no sign of a dominant customer; the dependence on vehicle finance links it to finding 8.

The open questions mostly concern KTM, so the 2025-26 group figures are a less reliable guide than the parent's. Later reports, with KTM consolidated for a full year, may answer some of them.

The ₹953.10 crore gain on revaluing the old KTM stake is described two ways: the table of associate results counts it in profit, while the text beside it says it was recognised in other comprehensive income.^[1][2] The KTM note says that, had the deal happened at the start of the year, revenue would have been ₹10,236.98 crore and group profit before tax ₹6,063.52 crore, without saying whether the revenue is KTM's or the group's; both are far below the reported group figures of ₹62,905.00 crore and ₹13,951.54 crore.^[3][4][5][6] KTM is consolidated only to 31 December 2025, so the group figures leave out its results for January to March 2026.^[7] The reports do not give the KTM group's current net debt-to-EBITDA ratio for its loan covenants, a group profit figure excluding KTM items, or what the adverse audit remarks on Bajaj Auto Credit concern.^[8][9]

Last in the initial 20 because it gathers the open questions of the findings above it; it is marked Needs attention for those gaps, mostly about KTM, whose substance is already weighed in findings 2, 3, 9 and 15.

The group's balance sheet now carries KTM brand and development values that depend on KTM's recovery; if the turnaround falters they could be written down, as the old stake was a year earlier. The values were checked at acquisition, but the reports give no later test, so how much headroom they have is not known.

There is no goodwill to test: in the group (consolidated) accounts the KTM purchase left a capital reserve of ₹21.83 crore, because the fair value of the net assets acquired was put above the price paid.^[1][2] It did add large intangible assets: group intangible assets rose to ₹4,185.38 crore, including KTM trademarks of ₹2,846.07 crore, written off over 30 years, and customer relationships of ₹759.14 crore, plus ₹1,400.73 crore of development work not yet in use.^{[3][4][5][6][7]} These values were set at the acquisition, which the auditor examined with valuation specialists, a year after the group wrote down its old KTM stake by ₹600.93 crore on a value-in-use test.^[10][8] In Bajaj Auto's own (standalone) accounts, its investment in the Dutch holding company that owns the KTM stake is carried at its cost of ₹2,420.66 crore (₹1,218.72 crore).^[9]

Not stated in the reports: The reports give no impairment test or key assumptions for the KTM intangible assets after the acquisition, or for the parent's investment in its Dutch holding company.

The KTM brand and development values are large, were set during a loss-making turnaround and depend on the recovery in finding 2; a write-down would hit group profit directly, as the old stake's did, which is why it leads the findings that follow the open questions in finding 20.

As far as the current and non-current split shows, more of the loan book falls due within a year than of the rupee bank loans that fund it, and capital stays above the regulatory minimum the company cites, but the capital ratio fell as the book grew, so further growth needs more capital or borrowing. The report gives no maturity bands or liquidity coverage ratio for the lending arm, and the group maturity table includes KTM, so mismatches within the year cannot be checked.

In the group (consolidated) accounts, Bajaj Auto Credit's loan book of ₹18,834.68 crore is funded mainly by bank borrowing on top of equity from Bajaj Auto, which has put ₹2,700 crore of share capital into it.^[1][2][14] The borrowings notes list secured rupee bank term loans of ₹7,480.75 crore non-current and ₹5,652.40 crore current, a foreign-currency loan (ECB) of ₹2,081.77 crore and ₹500.00 crore of 7.25% debentures; the bank loans are secured against loans and book debts, and the lending business has ₹1000 crore of unused limits.^{[3][4][5][6][7][15]} On the asset side, ₹7,978.63 crore of the loans to customers is shown as current, due within a year, and ₹10,856.05 crore as non-current, while most of the rupee term loans are repaid in quarterly instalments.^[8][9] The group's maturity table covers the whole group, including KTM, rather than the lending arm alone: it shows ₹7,816.53 crore of current borrowings payable within a year and ₹16,655.93 crore of non-current borrowings payable in one to five years.^[10] Capital adequacy fell to 19.54% from 23.73% as risk-weighted assets rose to ₹19,485.63 crore from ₹9,994.45 crore; the company says it remains well above RBI norms, that it exceeds the regulatory liquidity coverage requirement and that its asset-liability committee monitors mismatches, but it gives neither the coverage ratio nor a maturity table for the lending arm.^[11][12][13]

Not stated in the reports: The annual report does not give the lending arm's borrowings as one total, a table of its loans and borrowings by maturity band, or its liquidity coverage ratio.

Placed just after the top 20, beside the findings on group debt (finding 4), the lending arm's loan quality (finding 8) and refinancing (finding 9): it shows how the fast-growing loan book is funded, which those findings depend on, but its figures are partial because the notes do not isolate the lending arm's borrowings.

The vehicle business earns high and rising returns on its own capital, but the group now has far more capital tied up in automotive assets, much of it in KTM, which was included for only a few months and made losses. Whether that extra capital earns a useful return will only show in later years.

At Bajaj Auto itself (standalone), yes: return on capital employed was 36.3% against 33.1%, and return on equity 29.3% against 28.6%.^[1][2] For the group (consolidated), the capital employed in the automotive segment rose to ₹17,114.39 crore from ₹6,893.81 crore in the year KTM was added, while that segment's result rose to ₹12,016.19 crore from ₹8,769.75 crore.^[3][4][5][6] The lending segment's result was ₹888.58 crore on capital employed of ₹3,770.98 crore (₹78.15 crore on ₹2,336.33 crore), and the company says Bajaj Auto Credit earned a return on equity of 23%.^{[5][3][6][4][7]} The investment portfolio earned ₹1,306.98 crore on capital employed of ₹25,579.02 crore.^[5][3]

KTM greatly enlarged the capital in the automotive segment, so returns are the test of whether the takeover pays; it follows finding 21 because the evidence covers only a few months of KTM.

The parent's cash reserves can bear this payout, but it is larger than one year's operating cash flow, so repeating it every year would run the reserves down. The board presents it as a centenary payout, and the reports do not say what payout to expect afterwards.

Yes, by Bajaj Auto's (standalone) reserves more than by one year's cash: the board proposes to return ₹9,825 crore, equal to 100% of the year's profit, which is more than the year's operating cash flow of ₹8,961.24 crore; the company puts its free cash flow at over ₹8,000 crore.^[1][2][3] The company reports surplus cash of ₹18,137 crore at the year-end to draw on.^[4] Payouts have been rising: dividends paid in the year were ₹5,854.58 crore against ₹2,235.32 crore, and ₹931.84 crore went on a buyback the year before.^[5][6] The board links the 100% payout to the Bajaj Group's centenary, while the chairman speaks of rewarding shareholders from time to time in line with growth and performance.^[7][8]

The proposed payout is the largest in the reports and draws on the same cash that stands behind KTM and the lending arm in finding 6; the parent's reserves can bear it, so it is Mixed rather than a concern.

Funding facilities and the parent's liquidity are disclosed, but their adequacy for the complete plans cannot be established without cost estimates, including for any further support KTM may need.

For the plans the reports describe, each part of the group has funding in place, though the plans are not costed: they include more capacity for electric and premium bikes, a bigger lending arm and the KTM turnaround.^[1][2] Bajaj Auto's own (standalone) capital commitments were ₹178.55 crore (₹128.58 crore), set against the surplus cash described earlier in this report.^[3] The lending arm had ₹1000 crore of unused borrowing limits and a capital adequacy ratio of 19.5%, which the company says is well above the regulator's minimum, and the parent raised its equity in it to ₹2,700.00 crore from ₹2,400.00 crore.^[4][5][6] In the group (consolidated) accounts, KTM refinanced in February 2026 with a €550 million bank facility, of which about €473 million was drawn, and used it to repay loans from Bajaj Auto's Dutch subsidiary.^[7][8]

Not stated in the reports: The reports do not put a cost on the stated plans or say how much more money KTM may need from Bajaj Auto.

Takes finding 6 further, business by business; the open point is how much more support KTM may need, which no figure in the reports answers.

On the directors' account the parent's position has not changed since the year-end, but the group figures lag for KTM and the chairman expects a difficult start to the new year. The reports end in May 2026, so anything later is not covered.

The directors say nothing material changed Bajaj Auto's (standalone) financial position between the year-end and their report; the main later event they report is the share buyback approved on 06 May 2026, covered earlier in this report.^[1][2] For KTM the group (consolidated) accounts are older than they look: they include its results only to 31 December 2025, and its new bank loan was brought in as a significant transaction after that date.^[3][4] The board named the Dutch holding company, KTM's two holding companies and KTM AG as material subsidiaries for FY2027, and approved Rakesh Sharma's move to Joint Managing Director from 01 June 2026.^[5][6] The chairman says geopolitics, commodity inflation and supply disruption make conditions particularly difficult at the start of the new financial year, and the company points to rising tensions in the Middle East.^[7][8]

Takes finding 16 further: KTM's figures lag the year-end and the chairman warns of a difficult start to the new year, which matters for reading the group figures but is stated mostly in words.

Nothing in the reports points to a reporting failure at Bajaj Auto itself. KTM, now a large part of the group, is outside the auditor's controls opinion and its oversight is still being built, so the group's controls are less tested than the parent's.

No: the reports disclose no restatement, only previous-year figures regrouped where necessary, and no fraud; the directors say the auditors reported none, and the auditor says none was noticed or reported at the company.^[1][2][3] The auditor's opinion says Bajaj Auto's own (standalone) internal financial controls were adequate and operating effectively at 31 March 2026, and the auditor found no tampering with the audit trail in its accounting software.^[4][5] For the group (consolidated), the same opinion covers only companies incorporated in India, so it does not extend to KTM and the other foreign subsidiaries.^[6] The company says it is still setting up the governance framework, oversight and reporting processes for KTM and its holding companies, which become material subsidiaries in FY2027.^[7]

Takes finding 15 further: the controls opinion stops at India while KTM is still being brought under group oversight; nothing points to a reporting failure, so it ranks below the financial exposures. The inconsistent KTM gain is in findings 3 and 20.

Selling costs are growing faster than revenue, and the company has no commodity positions to soften rising input prices, so margins rely on pricing and mix. The reports do not say how much of any rise in commodity costs it expects to pass on in prices.

Among Bajaj Auto's own (standalone) costs, several smaller items rose sharply: research and development costs within other expenses were ₹244.57 crore against ₹59.63 crore and royalties ₹213.97 crore against ₹136.91 crore, though total research spending charged to profit was ₹566.76 crore against ₹574.10 crore.^[1][2] Selling costs grew faster than revenue: sales and after-sales expenses were ₹1,911 crore, 3.3% of revenue against 2.9%, with freight at ₹271.60 crore (₹185.86 crore), vehicle service charges ₹416.61 crore (₹288.18 crore) and advertising ₹646.97 crore (₹508.40 crore).^[4][3] Factory, administrative and other expenses rose to 3.1% of revenue from 2.8%, while the largest cost, raw materials and components, was ₹38,250.44 crore against ₹32,265.79 crore.^[5][6] The company says it used pricing, cost savings, a richer mix and operating leverage to hold margins; it warns of inflation in key input commodities and reports no positions in commodity markets.^[7][8][9]

These costs decide whether the margin in finding 12 holds as commodity prices rise; the warning is clear, but the effect is not yet in the figures.

The reports show Bajaj Auto competing on price and product in commuter motorcycles, where it is losing share, so its pricing power there looks limited; they give no evidence either way for three-wheelers, where it leads. Without price and volume figures by product, how far it could raise prices without losing business cannot be judged.

The reports give no figures for Bajaj Auto's own (standalone) price changes; the company says only that it made a series of pricing and product moves to compete, in a year when competition intensified in commuter motorcycles.^[1][2] Discounts rose with sales: cash discounts and target incentives were ₹421.19 crore (₹368.25 crore) and vehicle discounts booked as sales promotion ₹222.14 crore (₹172.02 crore), against sales at contracted prices of ₹56,757.01 crore (₹48,787.49 crore).^[3] Export revenue in dollars rose 20.2% while export volumes rose 20.8%, and the company credits part of the growth in rupee export revenue to a currency tailwind.^[4][5] Tax also moved prices: GST fell to 18% from 28% on motorcycles up to 350cc but rose to 40% above 350cc, and the company replaced its 400cc models with versions under 350cc.^[6] In its 2022-23 report the company said strong price competition in entry-level motorcycles led it to focus on more profitable models of 125cc and above.^[7][8]

Not stated in the reports: The reports do not say by how much Bajaj Auto raised or cut its prices, or how volumes responded.

Pricing is how the company plans to offset the rising costs in finding 28 while its home motorcycle share falls (finding 7); the reports give no price figures, so the evidence is weaker than for the costs above it.

The parent's operating cash rests on trading rather than on paying suppliers later, with only modest help from customer advances. The group figure is helped by reductions in KTM's stock and receivables and by factoring, which may not repeat, and the reports do not show KTM's cash flow separately.

At Bajaj Auto itself (standalone), mostly normal trading: cash from operations before working-capital changes was ₹11,942.15 crore (₹10,190.02 crore), and working-capital changes added a net ₹104.76 crore after taking away ₹242.82 crore the year before.^[1][2] Higher payables and provisions added ₹1,628.81 crore, but the figures do not show slower payment of suppliers: trade payables turned over 6.11 times against 6.06, and payables overdue by less than a year fell to ₹584.01 crore from ₹1,191.58 crore.^[2][3][4][5] Customer advances, a timing benefit, rose to ₹639.68 crore from ₹392.88 crore.^[6] For the group (consolidated), lower inventories and receivables released ₹639.02 crore and ₹1,346.44 crore although Bajaj Auto's own stock and receivables rose, so the release came from elsewhere in the group, chiefly KTM, which also sells receivables under a factoring programme.^[8][7][9]

Checks the quality of the cash in finding 5: the parent's looks sound, and the help the group figure gets from KTM timing effects is a smaller point than those above.

Exposure abroad is growing and spread across several regions, but many are emerging markets whose currencies and politics have cut exports before. Without country figures, the size of any single-market exposure is not shown.

India drives most of the business, but abroad is gaining weight: group (consolidated) revenue and other income from outside India was ₹22,166.99 crore against ₹16,283.31 crore, and from India ₹42,920.23 crore against ₹36,185.65 crore.^[1][2] Group assets outside India rose to ₹19,884.73 crore from ₹6,427.85 crore as KTM, based in Austria, joined the group.^[1][2] At Bajaj Auto itself (standalone), sales outside India were ₹20,416.03 crore (₹16,254.14 crore) against ₹35,697.65 crore in India (₹31,993.08 crore).^[3] The reports name the regions behind export growth, with a record year in Latin America and volume growth of 54% in East Africa and 36% in South Asia, but give no revenue by country.^[4][5] Concentration has hurt before: the 2022-23 report says exports, 52.7% of net sales in FY2022, fell as Nigeria, Egypt, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh ran into political and economic trouble.^[6]

Not stated in the reports: The reports do not give revenue or profit by country or region outside India, so dependence on any single export market cannot be measured.

A growing share of group revenue comes from abroad and the reports show exports have fallen sharply before, but no country figures are given; distributor concentration is in finding 19.

Market figures support the claimed lead in three-wheelers and exports, but not in home motorcycles, the largest product line. The shares come from the company's own tables of industry data, and no competitor margins are given, so the claim of industry-leading profitability cannot be checked from the reports.

Market figures in the reports, for Bajaj Auto's own (standalone) sales, back some of the claimed strengths, mostly in three-wheelers and exports: its share of CNG three-wheelers rose to 87.9%, and within three years of entry it led electric three-wheelers (L5) with 33.5% of the market.^[1][2][3] Its motorcycle exports grew 17% against 10% for the industry, and commercial-vehicle exports 49% against 44%, with leadership kept in 11 of 12 key commercial-vehicle export markets.^[4][6][5] The company calls its 20.5% EBITDA margin industry-leading, but the reports give no competitor figures to check this.^[7][8] The advantage is not holding in its largest home market, where its domestic motorcycle share fell to 15.6% from 16.6%.^[9]

The claimed strengths are mostly backed by market data, and the weak spot, home motorcycles, is already finding 7, so this adds context rather than a new risk.

The vehicle business generates far more cash than it needs for capital spending, and needed less of it this year. At group level little remains once the lending arm's growth is counted, and the reports give no free cash flow figure for KTM.

At Bajaj Auto itself (standalone), a large and growing amount: operating cash flow was ₹8,961.24 crore (₹7,266.73 crore) against spending on property, plant and equipment of ₹430.38 crore (₹725.31 crore) and on intangible assets of ₹70.71 crore (₹2.80 crore).^[1][2][3] Separately from capital spending, it put ₹1,501.93 crore into subsidiaries (₹2,113.53 crore).^[4] For the group (consolidated), operating cash flow of ₹2,596.60 crore, after an outflow of ₹1,405.57 crore a year earlier, compares with ₹560.39 crore of spending on property, plant and equipment and ₹161.93 crore on intangible assets.^[5][6][7] The group figure is small because the growth of the lending arm's loans is counted in operating cash flow, as explained earlier in this report.^[5]

Confirms the parent's cash strength shown in findings 5 and 6; capital spending is modest, so it adds little that is new.

The parent's priorities are clear: payouts to shareholders first, then support for its subsidiaries, with modest capital spending and no debt. At group level new borrowing funds the lending arm and KTM, and a large outflow of loans given is not explained.

At Bajaj Auto (standalone), shareholders came first: dividends paid were ₹5,854.58 crore, against ₹1,501.93 crore put into subsidiaries, ₹430.38 crore of capital spending and ₹323.54 crore of loans given, and it repaid its ₹800.00 crore bank loan.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} A year earlier the mix was different: ₹2,235.32 crore of dividends and ₹931.84 crore of buybacks, against ₹2,113.53 crore into subsidiaries and ₹1,064.41 crore of loans given.^[1][6][2][4] The group (consolidated) borrowed to grow, raising ₹23,266.49 crore and repaying ₹12,584.96 crore of borrowings.^[7] Its investing cash flows also include ₹7,702.59 crore of loans given (₹518.68 crore), which the reports do not explain further.^[8]

The parent's use of cash is plainly reported and its affordability is finding 24; the unexplained group loans given keep it Mixed and remain an open question.

Growth is coming from electric scooters, which the company says earn lower margins, and from premium bikes, whose profitability is not shown. Without profit by line, whether the shift in mix improves the underlying economics cannot be judged from the reports.

The reports give revenue for some product lines but no profit for any of them: Pulsar brought in more than ₹11,000 crore of domestic revenue, the Chetak electric scooter over ₹4,000 crore and the KTM and Triumph bikes nearly ₹5,000 crore worldwide.^[1][2][3] The company says its electric business is profitable, but also calls electric scooter sales margin-dilutive and lists improving Chetak's profitability as a priority.^[4][5][6] In the group (consolidated) accounts all vehicle lines sit in one automotive segment, and its costs are not split further.^[7]

Not stated in the reports: The reports do not give profit, margin or profit per vehicle for any product line, market or brand.

The mix is shifting towards electric and premium bikes, but the reports give no profit figures to test it; the effect matters but cannot be measured, and the margin side is partly covered in finding 12.

Selling more vehicles from the same capacity indicates better use of the plants, which helps profit without new investment. Sales are not output, though, and with no utilisation figures by plant, or any for KTM, how much spare capacity remains is not shown.

Bajaj Auto (standalone) sold more vehicles from unchanged capacity: installed capacity stayed at 7.2 million units a year in both reports, while sales rose to 5,117,667 vehicles from 4,650,966.^[1][2][3] Its workforce rose to 8,073 from 7,444, not counting the technology subsidiary.^[4][5] Its Brazilian plant raised capacity to 50,000 units a year and made around 32,000 motorcycles in calendar 2025.^[6] The company plans more capacity for electric and premium bikes but gives no utilisation rate, productivity measure or capacity for KTM's plants.^[7]

Not stated in the reports: The reports give no utilisation rates, output per employee, or capacity for KTM's plants.

The figures show better use of the plants with no sign of strain, so although the manufacturer framework moves capacity up, it raises no concern.

Vehicle demand has to be won each year, so revenue can fall quickly in a downturn, as exports did earlier; spares, loans and royalties give a steadier base. Without a spares figure, the size of that base is not known.

Little is contracted in advance: most revenue comes from vehicle sales to dealers and distributors, and the advances held at the start of the year all became revenue within it.^[1] The more recurring parts are spare parts, which the company says had another record year without giving a figure, and the lending arm's interest on vehicle loans, which gave the financing segment revenue of ₹3,247.61 crore (consolidated).^[2][3] Bajaj Auto (standalone) also earned royalties of ₹496.05 crore (₹415.08 crore) and ₹123.68 crore of interest on finance provided to dealers.^[4][5]

Not stated in the reports: The reports do not give spare-parts revenue or the share of sales to repeat buyers.

The question fits a vehicle maker only in part; spares and lending are the recurring elements, and the cyclical demand it implies is in finding 46.

The comparison with depreciation is context only: depreciation reflects past spending and the useful lives the company assumes, so it cannot show how much of this year's spending was upkeep and how much expansion.

The reports do not split capital spending between keeping existing plants running and expansion.^[1] At Bajaj Auto itself (standalone), additions to property, plant and equipment were ₹420.25 crore against depreciation of ₹442.48 crore, after ₹753.86 crore against ₹384.13 crore a year earlier.^[1][2] The largest addition was ₹187.20 crore of dies and jigs (tooling), and research and development capital spending was ₹126.05 crore (₹51.56 crore).^[3][4] Group (consolidated) capital spending was ₹694.16 crore, of which ₹141.15 crore was outside India.^[5]

Not stated in the reports: The reports do not say how much capital spending maintains existing operations and how much adds capacity.

Capital spending is small beside cash flow (finding 33), so the missing split between upkeep and expansion matters less here.

Leases are small for the group and almost absent at the parent, so they leave room to adjust if sales weaken. The reports do not show KTM's other fixed costs, such as its plants and workforce, separately, and those matter more to its flexibility.

A great deal: the group (consolidated) had no lease liabilities a year earlier, and of ₹659.26 crore at 31 March 2026, ₹620.94 crore arrived with KTM.^[1][2] Future lease payments total ₹750.16 crore, ₹184.09 crore of them due within a year, and short-term lease costs were ₹33.56 crore (₹21.73 crore).^[3][4] Staff are the larger fixed cost: group employee costs were ₹2,461.44 crore (₹1,925.80 crore), against ₹1,664.25 crore (₹1,579.44 crore) at Bajaj Auto itself (standalone).^[5][6] KTM's loan terms bar it from sale-and-leaseback deals used mainly to raise debt.^[7]

Lease commitments are small beside the group's cash and earnings and mostly arrived with KTM, so they carry little weight.

Bajaj Auto's own projects are small and recent. Some KTM development projects have been in progress for more than three years; without original completion dates and budgets, timeliness and overruns cannot be independently assessed.

The reports show no delayed or over-budget projects but give no project budgets: Bajaj Auto's own (standalone) capital work in progress was ₹43.08 crore, ₹36.62 crore of it started within the past year, and the notes state there are no delayed and overrun projects.^[1][2] The company says it replaced its 400cc models with versions under 350cc, after the change in GST, in about six months.^[3] In the group (consolidated) accounts, KTM's ₹1,400.73 crore of development projects include ₹882.10 crore in progress for more than three years, which the notes also describe as neither delayed nor overrun.^[4][5]

Not stated in the reports: The reports give no budgets or completion dates for projects, including KTM's development work.

Bajaj Auto's own projects are small; the open point is KTM's long-running development work, whose value is already questioned in finding 21.