Bajaj Auto Triumph Motorcycles partnership details announced

• Bajaj and Triumph to leverage each brand’s strengths
• Triumph to contribute big-bike know-how
• Bajaj to manufacture all small Triumph bikes at Chakan
• Bajaj to eventually take over Triumph India

Bajaj Auto and Triumph Motorcycles have revealed details about their partnership.

The first product will be launched in 2022, and will target a Rs 2 lakh price. That means that the 700cc twin cylinder Avenger we were excited about is still some time away – it certainly isn’t first in line.

As expected, the British brand Triumph will introduce a ‘big bike experience’ while home brand Bajaj will contribute its expertise at manufacturing low-cost motorcycles. From a market standpoint, Bajaj will help Triumph products sell in various low-cost markets where the British brand doesn’t yet have a presence. For its part, Triumph will help introduce the Indian two-wheeler maker Bajaj to markets where it has a strong network. Of course, in both cases the brands will look to sell their products as value-driven, low-cost products, even though the positioning will be premium for Triumph in the new markets.

While no details are being made available for the first product, the goal is an ex-showroom price of under Rs 2 lakh. This will make the product mostly a single-cylinder product, but will have a raft of features – and the coveted Triumph brand, as far as India is concerned. The segment where Royal Enfield continues to make a pretty penny is coveted by all manufacturers, including and up to Harley-Davidson, who have begun working on a 300-odd cc motorcycle for markets such as India. The Rs 2 lakh bracket will give Triumph access to the segments with numbers in markets with large numbers, like in South East Asia, where tax slabs prevent competitive pricing for engines above a particular capacity. For example, the Indonesian market has a big tax bump on motorcycles that displace more than 250cc, which is one of the reasons why the Kawasaki Ninja 250R racked up the numbers for so many years. It is also the reason why there exists a KTM 125 Duke and 250 Duke – the former because of licensing requirements in the EU, the latter, because of the reason mentioned before.

As such, we can expect a Triumph on a platform that will support a displacement of 250cc to 400cc. It will mostly be a single-cylinder product, which will help meet the cost and value targets. However, it will be loaded with features, and the platform will spawn a number of products for both the Bajaj and Triumph brands, offering nearly unbeatable value for money.

What is truly interesting is that this strategy seems to be in conflict with Bajaj’s other partnership with KTM, since it occupies the same displacement category at this point in time. However, the Bajaj-Triumph tie up will no doubt leverage the British heritage and opt to sell on the basis of retro cool, rather than the aggressive nature of the Austrian products of KTM.

Images: Rushlane