Triumph and Bajaj are now in collaboration to build new 200cc-500cc bikes. These bikes will be sold in India and other international markets. The idea is to challenge Royal Enfield with these mid-capacity bikes. Since Bajaj already has the Dominar 400, we may be looking at slightly higher capacity engines on the new range of Triumph-Bajaj bikes. A 500cc capacity could be a good starting point for these bikes.
Triumph Director of sales and marketing Paul Stroud made the following observations about this partnership at EICMA 2017.
The partnership is developing very well. As business partners we have signed heads of terms. Both partners are working behind the scenes very quickly to finalise the commercial agreements between both companies. We anticipate to finalise it (commercial agreement) early next year. We are expecting to be launching first products in markets like in early 2021. We see an exciting future within that (200-500cc) segment in the Indian market.
The new range of bikes that these companies jointly develop will be branded as Triumphs. They will be built at Bajaj Auto’s factory in Chakan, near Pune, and this will give Triumph world-class bikes at low cost. Bajaj will also take over Triumph’s distribution network in India. With the new details out, this partnership seems very similar to the one Bajaj has with KTM. The only difference here is that while Bajaj holds nearly 50 % share in KTM, the company has no stock holding in Triumph.
The technology that go into these bikes are expected to be used by Bajaj for other motorcycles it will launch under the Bajaj brand. The company already does this with the KTM brand. For example, the Pulsar 200 NS and Dominar 400 share engine technology with the KTM Duke 200 and 390. Even TVS Motors is doing something similar with its collaboration with BMW. Such partnerships benefit the Indian rider ultimately.
Via ETAuto