(Repeats story that ran on Saturday)
NEW DELHI, Aug 18 (Reuters) - R.L. Ravichandran, the marketing head of India's second-biggest motorcycle maker, Bajaj Auto Ltd , will leave the company on September 15 for personal reasons, the firm's chairman told Reuters on Saturday.
Rajiv Bajaj, joint managing director, will now look after the firm's marketing functions, the chairman said.
"Ravichandran will leave us on September 15 and is going abroad for personal reasons," Rahul Bajaj told Reuters by telephone from the company's headquarters in the western Indian city of Pune. He did not elaborate.
Ravichandran, the vice-president for marketing and business development, joined Bajaj in January 1998 from competitor TVS Motor Co Ltd , and helped transform the firm from a mostly scooter maker to a predominantly motorcycle producer.
TVS Motor Co is a former joint venture of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp and India's No 3 motorcycle producer.
Bajaj makes most of its bikes using technology from Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries .
Ravichandran told Reuters that Rajiv Bajaj had been involved "hands on" in Bajaj's sales and marketing for some time and he didn't see his leaving as posing a problem.
He also denied industry speculation that he would join Suzuki's new subsidiary that will begin making motorcycles in India in 2004.
Bajaj was a leader in India's scooter market until last year but has been knocked off that position by Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (Pvt) Ltd, Honda's wholly owned unit.
Ravichandran said domestic motorcycle sales growth of 10.41 percent in the first four months of this fiscal year, was below expectations but would accelerate in the second half of the year as the effects of a better-than-expected good monsoon kicks in.
Bajaj will launch two new motorcycle models in this fiscal year to March 2004 and would display two new scooters it is developing at India's next auto show next year. The scooters will be launched in 2004/05 after gauging consumer reaction.