Triumph Motorcycles India is a subsidiary of the iconic British motorcycle manufacturer Triumph Motorcycles, one of the oldest British motorcycle brands, established in 1902. Based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, Triumph has produced iconic bikes that perfectly blend authentic design, character, charisma and performance. Building around 60,000 bikes per year, Triumph is the largest British motorcycle manufacturer and has over 750 dealers across the world.
It is one of the fastest growing luxury and lifestyle brands in India, with over 4000 Customers, 17 Class-defining Models, 14 state-of-the art dealerships at strategic locations, a CKD assembly facility at Manesar, Haryana and is the winner of 36 major auto awards.
Interview with Vimal Sumbly, Managing Director, Triumph Motorcycles India Pvt. Ltd
How was the year 2017 for Triumph?
The past year has been a great year for Triumph Motorcycles as a brand. In the financial year 2017, Triumph grew global revenues by Rs 4,906 crore – an increase of 22.3 per cent year-on-year. We retailed 63,404 motorcycles in the financial year 2017, compared to 56,253 motorcycles in the financial year 2016 globally, with about 4500 units sold in India in the last 4 years. We also clocked an impressive revenue increase by 27 per cent year-on-year during the July-December period. Even in the face of challenging market conditions in a crowded vertical, the Triumph brand launched five new motorcycles in the last 12 months, performing strongly and maintaining its commitment and investment in research and development, with a view to furthering the continuous improvements of its products.
2017 has also seen us conduct experiential rides for Triumph customers with initiatives like the Triumph Tiger Trails. These rides help participants pick up tips and tricks to make the most of their machines, explore new places and bond with members of the community in equal measures.
How many new launches were there in 2017? Which model has been your best seller?
In addition to the all-new Triumph Tiger 800 range, Triumph also showcased the all-new Tiger 1200 range at EICMA 2017. Year 2017 saw 5 new motorcycle launches.
We recently launched the new Street Triple RS in Oct 2017 with a price tag of Rs 10.55 lakh (ex-showroom). It is the second variant of the new-generation motorcycle in the country after the base Street Triple S+ trim which was launched a few months ago at Rs 8.5 lakh.
The Street Scrambler was launched in India in August 2017, priced at Rs 8.1 lakh (ex-showroom).
In July we launched the 2017 Triumph Explorer XCx in India. The adventure bike was sold as completely built units (CBUs) in the country with a tag of Rs 18.75 lakh.
Triumph launched Bonneville Bobber in India priced at Rs 9.09 lakh in March 2017.
What is the market share of Triumph?
Within the big bike industry, Triumph today is one of the largest luxury bike brand here in India. Triumph Motorcycles has a current market share of 19 per cent within the over 500cc category in India.
What are the company's plans for 2018?
Our key focus for 2018 is to re-inforce our positioning as the leading luxury motorcycle brand; get more enthusiasts to experience the unique design and technological superiority of our products; expand our dealer network and introduce new products in to the Indian market. We believe adventure and classic bikes will be at the forefront of motorcycling in India. The classic range is becoming a style statement not only here, but also overseas. The adventure bike segment is also taking off in a big way. People want to travel with their friends and the riding community. The adventure segment will become large going forward.
Triumph motorcycles believes in the potential of the Indian market – the CKD plant in Manesar stands testament to that. Our exhaustive product portfolio of motorcycles ideally suited the requirements of the customer base here in India and it is growing quite rapidly. We are working to reduce CBUs to 10 per cent, and meet the rising demand with CKDs assembled out of our Manesar plant. As an example, the recently launched Street Scrambler and the Street Triple S are CKDs here in India.
By 2020, we intend to have 20-25 dealerships with greater penetration into Tier I and II cities. Goa being one of the major upcoming dealerships. We also foresee a growth in sales to about 1300-1400 units in 2018.
What is the dynamics of the Triumph-Bajaj collaboration?
With the wide base of our partner – Bajaj – we will be able to spread our reach wider across the country by providing motorcycles enthusiasts, a Triumph. This will not just be limited to Tier 1 and Tier II cities. These smaller capacity bikes will be an ideal stepping stone for more and more people to buy the brand, that way they will slowly move up the ladder and buy higher capacity bikes from Triumph.
Overall once these bikes are out on the roads they will have enough aspirational value to not only add riders to Triumph but overall encourage both new riders as well as riders who have hung up their boots to take up riding again given these bikes will be less intimidating with their lower capacity.
This partnership will give the riders the world over a power of choice. Even though they buy a lower capacity bike it will be as premium as any other motorcycle on the road.
