In a shocking news for bikers around the Asian subcontinent, Triumph’s Made in India’ quarter-litre offerings have been put on a hold for “strategic reasons”. Triumph’s 250cc motorcycles were spotted testing in Daytona form several times and Triumph had shown a concept sketch at the Milan show last year. The engine was supposed to be single-cylinder thumper and the bike was to cater to the cash cows aka the A2 licence riders in Europe. The naked was supposed to be called the Street Single for “obvious” reasons.
Triumph has been continuously ramping up dealerships in India that someday they would cater to the needs of hundreds of bikers who would rush to buy a quarter-litre offering from the famous British marquee. Spreading sales and service network is one of the reasons why Triumph has been clocking numbers in the super sport category like no other competitor in the segment. Triumph says they will continue to refresh their existing models and will display them at 2015 Intermot and EICMA shows.
What remains a mystery is why this decision was taken and what forced Triumph to do so. Keen competitors in this segment are the Japanese brigade and the newly improved old European rival, KTM who has not just taken India but the entire world by storm. The reasons could be anything but as we know, it is not an easy job to crack the nut in the entry-level segment and whatever Triumph is up to, it seems for the good as of now, as it takes only one shot to get things right or wrong. Meanwhile, people who were waiting for Triumph’s emerging market bikes can alter their plans right away.
