When we first saw the Triumph line-up of motorcycles to be launched in India at the Auto Expo 2012, we and most motorcycle enthusiasts, were understandably excited. Triumph was, at the time, supremely confident and bullish on their India plans, and announced a full complement of seven motorcycles with indicative prices.
Of particular note were the Bonneville and Street triple: both were expected at Harley-beating prices of under Rs 7 lakh. At the time, Triumph expected to have an assembly operation ready "by June 2012". Headed by ex-Royal Enfield man Ashish Joshi, things were optimistic and it looked like Triumph were about to turn the big bike business in India on its head.
Triumph's moves since then have ranged from somewhere between confusing to invisible. We've heard nary a peep of their India plans recently, whether they were setting up assembly operations to sustain their announced pricing, or if they had representation in India at all.
The last time we called and spoke to their media representative, the company didn't even revert with a "no comment". We had to borrow a privately-owned Bonnie to do a review. Then there was the time that their India CEO quit before anything concrete had taken place. Not very confidence-inspiring.
Triumph's trajectory has been particularly puzzling seeing that Harley-Davidson have followed a similar route to market as Triumph spoke about at the Expo, and there's no doubt of their success in India.
Harley today locally assembles nine of its fourteen models in India and is by far the largest selling big bike in the market.
This weekend, however, we've heard some interesting things about Triumph and their plans for India. Company officials have been visiting India and have been busy talking to potential dealers - all strictly need-to-know.
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