Spreading cheer among bike aficionados in India, iconic British manufacturer, Triumph has finally entered the country's two-wheeler market. The launch of yet another premium motorcycle brand in India clearly outlines the potential of domestic bike market. In an event organised by Triumph India, the company introduced ten models with prices ranging from Rs. 5.7 lakh too Rs. 20 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Speaking at the launch event, Paul Stroud, Triumph Motorcycles Director for Global Sales and Marketing, said, “India is an exceptionally exciting market for us and the premium motorcycle segment in the country is seeing tremendous growth. Our main focus this year will be to successfully establish Triumph's presence in India."
The company has segmented its entire range of bike in India under Classic, Roadster, Adventure, Super Sports and Cruiser. Talking about the bikes segment wise, the entry-level Bonneville has made it debut in India at Rs. 5.7 lakh whereas the advanced version of the same, Bonneville T100 carries a price tag of Rs. 6.6 lakh. Apart from these, the third Classic bike, Thruxton, is offered at Rs. 6.7 lakh.
While addressing the media, Paul Stroud justified the late entry of brand by saying, “We wanted to make sure that we entered the market with right models and right partners. So it took us time to look into these issues. We were also looking at developing back-end support, as well as invested on the plant during the period."
In the Roadster segment, the famous Street Triple and Speed Triple are offered by the company. The former, which is equipped with a 675 cc 3-cylinder engine, is capable of producing 105 bhp of power and is available at Rs. 7.5 lakh. While the other model, Speed Triple gets a price tag of Rs. 10.4 lakh. The bike is equipped with a 1050 cc four-stroke liquid-cooled engine that churns out 133 bhp of power.
Much to the delight of adventure bikers, Triumph has introduced both Tiger 800XC and Tiger Adventure models, carrying respective prices of Rs. 12 lakh and Rs. 17.9 lakh. For cruiser bike enthusiasts, Triumph has launched the Thunderbird Storm and Rocket III models. Before the company officially announced the launch of Rocket III, experts were saying that the bike would not feature in India till 2014. The widely acclaimed bike gets a massive 3-cylinder 2294 cc engine, which delivers peak power of 105 bhp along with peak torque of 202 Nm.
Reportedly, the company is going to bring bikes in India through both Completely Built Unit (CBU) and Completely Knocked Down (CKD) route. As expected, the low-specification and mid-specification bikes will be brought to India through the CKD route after which they will be assembled at the Manesar plant. Commenting on the sales target, Stroud said “We are aiming to sell around 400-500 motorcycles in the first six months of the launch. In the next one year, we are targeting to sell around 1,000 units in the Indian market."
As told by company officials, Triumph would be first establishing its presence in India by opening showrooms in metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Apart from this, other cities are also expected to get company stores by 2014. It is likely that Bangalore and Hyderabad will be among the first cities where Triumph shall open its dealership. The bookings for the bikes of Triumph are expected to commence from mid-December.
