Triumph shifts into first gear

Iconic British motorcycle brand Triumph has marked its entry into the $73-billion Indian motorcycle market by opening its first fully equipped dealership facility in the country in Bangalore on Tuesday.

Launching ten new motorcycle models in the country for a start, Triumph Motorcycles India Managing Director Vimal Sumbly said, “This is the right time for Triumph, which has a 112-year-old heritage, to enter the Indian market. Customers here are aspirational and want to upgrade themselves in line with their taste for the best the market has to offer.”

Leicester-based Triumph has been eyeing the super premium motorcycle space in India which sees sales of only 3,000 units per year. Sumbly said that this is the opportunity which Triumph is targeting in the world’s ninth largest motorcycle market. “The market for the big bikes is now opening up,” he said.

Triumph’s global market share in the 500 cc and above motorcycle category has been growing at an annual peg of 30 per cent.

The Bangalore showroom has round 50 pre-bookings under its belt, while the Hyderabad and Mumbai showrooms have advance bookings of 100 units, Sumbly said. “The Bangalore showroom is expected to sell 120-150 motorcycles across categories by the end of June.”

Following the opening of the exclusive showroom in Bangalore, Triumph will open showrooms in Hyderabad this month and in Delhi and Mumbai by March this year. In the second phase, showrooms are planned in Ahmedabad, Chennai and Kolkata.
The ten bike models rolled out on Tuesday were the Triumph Bonneville, Bonneville T100, Speed Triple, Street Triple, Thruxton, Tiger 800 XC, Tiger Explorer, Thunderbird Storm, Daytona 675R and Rocket III Roadster. These bikes had been formally launched in India in November last year.

The bikes have been launched across five categories -- Classics, Roadsters, Adventure, Cruisers and Supersports – priced from approximately Rs 5.91 lakh (ex-showroom Bangalore) for the 865-cc Triumph Bonneville in the Classics category to the Rocket III Roadster, a jumbo Cruiser category bike which comes with a price tag of Rs 20.47 lakh (ex-showroom Bangalore).

The Supersports category features the 675-cc Daytona priced at Rs 11.72 lakh (ex-showroom Bangalore), while the Roadsters on offer will feature price tags of approximately Rs 7.75 lakh for the 675-cc Street Triple and Rs 10.70 lakh for the 1,050-cc Speed Triple.