Triumph launches Speed 400 at Rs 2.23 lakh for the first 10,000 customers

Aimed at younger buyers, Premium British Motorcycle maker Triumph has entered the fast-growing mid-size motorcycle market in India in partnership with Bajaj Auto. This comes close on the heels of the iconic US brand Harley Davidson's launch of the 440 cc bike. Both these companies look to challenge the dominance of the Royal Enfield- the mid-size motorcycle specialist. 

Triumph on Wednesday launched the Speed 400 at a price of Rs 2.23 lakh for the first 10,000 buyers. After that, the vehicle will be priced at Rs 2.33 lakh and the launch price of the new Scrambler 400x will be announced in October, the company said.

Unveiling the mid-size bikes in Pune, Steve Sargent, Chief Product Officer, Triumph Motorcycles said, “Our ambition is very simple, we want to give a whole new generation of riders an opportunity to ride a Triumph. It is all about creating iconic speed and scrambler line up, they can be recognised as Triumph, making it more accessible to people. We have focused on delivering a perfect ride.”

These bikes will be sold through a dedicated Triumph network of 100 showrooms in 80 cities till the end of this year. The company aims to have 30 dedicated Triumph dealerships by the end of the month and 120 by March. The bikes will be made at Bajaj Auto’s new Chakan 2 facility.

Bajaj Auto is starting with an initial capacity of 5,000 units a month, which can be scaled up as per demand, assured the company.

These two bikes have been delivered through a major 5-year project, conceived and designed by Triumph in Hinckley, UK, and engineered in partnership with Bajaj Auto.

Apart from Bajaj Auto’s factory in Chakan in India, these bikes will be assembled At Triumph’s facilities in Thailand and Brazil.  

These mid-size bikes are powered by a new TR series of 400 cc single-cylinder engines with a six-speed gearbox and they will join the modern classic line up of Triumph in the higher cubic capacity. The mid-size bikes are built on an all new dedicated Roadster chassis. The bikes deliver a classic leading 40 PS of power and 37.5 nm of Torque, claimed the company. 

Made in India for the world, the mid-size motorcycles are first launched in India, before it is shipped to other parts of the world.

The bikes have been adapted for Indian roads, with unique features – like the Sari Guard, front number, grab handles, suspension settings, wheels, and tyres. 

Unveiling the bike, Triumph's top management said these bikes are aimed at a wider customer base right from a youngster who is looking at his first big bike to even an existing user of big bikes to offer him a lighter second option.

The Bajaj-Triumph Duo was non-committal on volumes, between both these bikes - the company plans to produce about 40,000 units in the next six months meant for both domestic and exports market.

Triumph will offer 25 accessory options to Indian buyers.  In terms of service, it will offer a 10,000 mile or 16,000 kms service interval and a 2-year unlimited comprehensive mileage warranty.

After three years of intensive discussion, Bajaj Auto and Triumph Motorcycles had formalised a partnership in January 2020 to enter the growing mid-size motorcycle segment in India, challenging the maker of Bullet motorcycle Royal Enfield head-on, with the range of bikes priced around Rs 2 lakh.

It is a long term non-equity alliance wherein both partners jointly developed, and engineered these mid-size bikes, with Bajaj taking the responsibility of sourcing and manufacturing these mid-size bikes at the Chakan facility on the outskirts of Pune.

Close to a million motorcycles are sold above Rs 1.5 lakh and 200 cc and Royal Enfield enjoys a lion's share of the market with over a 90% share. Apart from a series of sports bikes, Mahindra & Mahindra-backed Classic Legends has been selling Yezdi and Jawa brands with Honda entering the fray in October 2020, with Harley joining the race early this week.

To be sure, this is not the first time Triumph has attempted to crack into the mid-size motorcycle space. Its own attempt to make a 250 cc bike independently, did not yield the desired result way back in 2015-2016.

For Bajaj Auto, the discussion to partner with Triumph goes way back to 2007, when it first expressed its desire to join hands with the UK-based bike maker. After a series of preliminary discussions between 2007 to 2016, both parties decided to engage in a serious discussion on an alliance in 2017, before formalising it on October 2020.