Manufacturers of popular bikes such as Street Triple, Bonneville, Daytona and Rocket III. Triumph Motorcycles, is all set to begin distribution in the Indian auto market by November 2013. The announcement of its entry into the Indian market was made in the Auto Expo 2012 but due to the sudden resignation of its Managing Director, Ashish Joshi in April last year, the launch got delayed. The new Managing Director who has taken over is Vimal Sumbly who was an ex-employee of Bajaj Auto Ltd.
One big risk that the firm is taking is bringing out the Completely Knocked Down (CKD) units in India and then selling them off in the market. Most of the manufacturers follow the trend of bringing out CBD (Completely Built Units) for a year and then working out on the CKD. However, the company wanted to offer the bike at the right price to the customers so that they are saved from paying heavy taxes. In an interaction with the media, the company's Managing Director let out a lot of information.
“India, according to me, will become a global hub for emerging markets. That’s where our capability lies, that’s where our scale of operation lies and that’s where our positioning of products lies,” he was quoted as saying. It is obvious from what Sumbly said that the firm is pinning hopes on growing market and has full plans to make India a global hub for selling off reasonable bike range. The company has two plants, one at Manesar in Maharashtra and the other one at Narsapura (near Bangalore). The assembling of bigger bikes would be done at the Manesar plant whereas the manufacture of smaller bikes would begin at the Bangalore plant. The assembling via CKD route is expected to complete by 2015 in the Manesar facility.
The company believes that the big motorbike market is more prevalent in the Northern and Central India while smaller bikes are popular in the Southern part of India. Therefore, manufacturing smaller bikes in Bangalore would be advantageous for the area which would also save on the commuting costs. People have a notion that Triumph Motorcycles are cruiser ones just like Harley Davidson and Royal Enfield but the reality is that this bike maker has a lot of variety registered in its portfolio. Dirt, cruiser, sport and super sport bikes, all are offered by this brand and its entry in the domestic brand could give stiff competition to brands like Kawasaki, BMW Motorrad and Ducati apart from the obvious Harley-Davidson and Royal Enfield.
The company would most probably offer sub-500 cc motorcycles that would be manufactured in India itself. Also, the company has plans to export it to emerging markets like Nepal, South Africa, Latin America and Bangladesh. It is anticipated that it could also shell out 250 cc motorcycles. At present, the company is working put on establishing good network and sales support. However, it has no plans to partner with some Indian company for distribution and marketing. It starting price can be expected somewhere around Rs. 2.5 lakh whereas the most expensive bike by this firm, Rocket III could range somewhere around Rs. 20 lakh.
