The iconic British motorcycle manufacturer, Triumph formally announced its entry into the Indian motorcycle market with the showcase of a string of their models at the 2012 Delhi Auto Expo. A total of 7 models were displayed at the Auto Expo which will be coming first to India including the 1959 classic, the 865cc Bonneville and the 2300cc Rocket III Roadster. Triumph also revealed the prices at which these bikes will be available in the Indian market. The Bonneville will be retailing at Rs. 5,50,000 (ex-showroom, Delhi) while the world’s largest capacity production bike, the Rocket III Roadster will be carrying a hefty price tag of Rs. 22 lakhs.
After laying out its initial plans for the Indian market, the British bike maker is now working on developing smaller capacity bikes for the Indian market. These smaller capacity mass market bikes are expected to arrive in the Indian market by 2015. Triumph is also going on similar footsteps of Harley Davidson and setting up a local assembly plant in India. The company had undergone talks with states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka and finally zeroed on Karnataka.
Initially the company is looking forward to assembling the Bonneville, Street Triple, Speed Triple and Daytona 675 models locally with complete manufacturing following later. The company also said that although the plant will take time to setup but the bikes will be launched in the market via the CKD route prior to that to build brand awareness and the costs would be kept low keeping in mind the reduced costs after local assembly starts. This strategy would definitely give the company some edge over its competitors like Harley Davidson, BMW Motorrad, Hyosung, Yamaha and Suzuki as customers would be getting a change to own a Triumph brand at an affordable price.
