Finally after teasing us at the New Delhi Auto Expo in 2012, Triumph Motorcycles will be officially launching their range of bikes in India on the 28th of November, 2013. After making us wait for over a year and a half with speculations, spy shots and boxes at the customs, Triumph will be making its India debut and will announce its first few dealers and pricing of its motorcycles, which might not carry the same pricing as the ones announced last year, since the Rupee has depreciated considerably.
The iconic British brand will be coming out with seven of its models – Bonneville, Street Triple, Speed Triple, Daytona 675, Tiger 800XC, Thunderbird Storm and Rocket III. It is unknown if all the models will be brought together or only a few models will be launched first. Triumph has been working on a production plant in Narsapura, near Bangalore in order to avoid the CBU route and the taxes that come with it. The company will be assembling the bikes via the CKD route. Since the Karnataka plant is expected to be operational by 2015, a smaller workshop has been setup in Manesar, New Delhi to assemble the first set of bikes.
The cheapest offering available on sale from Triumph will be the Bonneville and the company plans to price it aggressively in the Rs. 5–6 lakh range to grab a foothold in the market right from the start. Apart from the big boys, Triumph is also working on an entry level 250cc single-cylinder bike that was recently spied testing, which should be bringing in the volumes for the company. The bike will compete with the Kawasaki Ninja 300, Honda CBR300R and the KTM Duke 390.
The iconic brand plans to have three dealerships in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore up and running within 2013, followed by dealerships in Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Pune, Chennai, Hyderabad, Cochin and Goa in the coming months. Expect Triumph’s motorcycle gear to be available at the dealerships post launch. Triumph sells a range of motorcycles from cruisers, classics, super sports to adventure and tourers that will cater to every kind of bike rider. Established brands like Harley–Davidson, which also sells via the CKD route and is doing well for itself globally, will face the heat from the makers of the Rocket III in the Indian market.