India's Bajaj Auto sees strong sales in second half

NEW DELHI, June 23 (Reuters) - Bajaj Auto Ltd (BAJA.BO), India's second-largest motorbike maker, expects to sell between 175,000 to 200,000 motorcycles per month helped by the launch of two new models, its managing director said on Tuesday.

"The sales I was referring to is, say from the second half of the year, which is when both models will be in the market," Rajiv Bajaj told a news conference.

One model will be launched in July, while the other would be launched towards the end of 2009.

Bajaj, which controls a fifth of the world's second-largest motorcycle market, has said it expects new launches to drive double-digit growth in the fiscal year that began April 1.

Its motorcycle sales fell an annual 18 percent in the first two months of the 2009/10 fiscal year. In the previous year they fell 23 percent, according to industry data, hit by the economic slowdown and by expensive credit. (Reporting by C.J. Kuncheria; Editing by John Mair)