The first product from Bajaj Triumph partnership is expected to be a rival for Royal Enfield 650 Twins and launch might take place by the end of this decade
Bajaj and Triumph announced their new partnership to develop mid-capacity motorcycles and the first product is expected to hit the market by the end of this decade. The Pulsar maker has already proved that partnerships with the global manufacturer can do wonders for their own products and for the other company also.
Thanks to Bajaj partnership, KTM has become one of the fastest growing two-wheeler manufacturers in the world. Triumph is also keen to explore new segments as arch-rival BMW Motorrad has already launched two new sub-500 cc motorcycles in the global markets and these models are selling in good numbers also.
The G310 R and G310 GS from BMW are manufactured by TVS in India and this helps the company to reduce manufacturing cost and increase profit. Triumph is taking this route as the design and development will be carried out by the company and Bajaj Auto will manufacture these products at its Chakan plant for global markets.
Both companies haven’t given more details about the upcoming products, but some reports have indicated that Triumph is working on a Royal Enfield 650 rival as these entry-level premium retro-cruiser bikes have lots of demand in emerging and developed markets. Royal Enfield officially launched the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 at Rs.2.50 lakh and Rs. 2.65 lakh respectively in India.
These products will be launched in India under Triumph and Bajaj brands, but both products will be different and pricing will be key for the success as the current aggressive pricing strategy of 650 twins will certainly help RE to gain significant market share. One more advantage for 650 Twins is that they don’t have any direct competitors at the current price range.
Bajaj needs to adopt the same aggressive pricing strategy of KTM bikes to make these new products succeed in the market. The current range of Triumph starts at 675 cc and these new sub-500 cc motorcycles will open up a big market for the company, which will help them to cater to a wide range of audience.
We can expect Triumph to introduce naked, fully faired and adventure motorcycles with Bajaj partnership in the 250-500 cc segments. This partnership also helps Bajaj to access world-class technologies of Triumph and the company could introduce higher cc models with the help of the British manufacturer.