Will Triumph-Bajaj Partnership Affect KTM?

How much could Bajaj extract from KTM?

Bajaj today has earned the tag of India’s leading performance two-wheeler manufacturer and it has proved its worth in the market with the KTM range being manufactured in India and sold across continents. It has efficiently implemented KTM’s technology to offer a wide range of products under its brand, which includes the Bajaj Dominar, NS 200 and the Bajaj RS 200 series. Bajaj has been able to further amplify its manufacturing techniques with the help of norms set in by the Austrian company while delivering competitive pricing.

Now, KTMs are known for being radical and aggressive in terms of design language and performance, especially when it comes to single and twin-cylinder engines, which are high revving in nature. However, Bajaj could only do so much to implement KTM’s technical know-how to produce high revving motorcycles like the Dominar, RS200 and the NS200. Also, the KTM-Bajaj partnership came into being with the main focus of exclusively developing smaller capacity bikes from 125cc onwards to 400cc, which they have achieved rather successfully.

Reaffirming the same, KTM also made it clear that they don’t have any plans to manufacture or sell its upcoming 790cc parallel-twin in India. The upcoming KTM 790 Duke will be built in Austria and this means that Bajaj won’t be able to tap into KTM’s twin-cylinder expertise. This limits Bajaj from entering newer segments and also further capitalising on technology for models like the Avenger, which have the potential to grow more.

How Triumph fills the gap?

Triumph has a wide range of successful offerings in the cruiser and retro segment, which consists of the Bonneville series, the Thunderbird series and the Rocket III. But none of these bikes fall in the mass market segment and this is where the new Bajaj-Triumph developed motorcycles with an engine displacement between 400-600cc comes into the picture. The new motorcycles could easily be Triumph’s most affordable offerings helping the British brand increase its sales figures globally.

With the right target audience set in sight, Triumph proves to be an ideal partner with expertise in developing such potent retro and cruiser motorcycles. This global partnership shall empower Bajaj to channel the British bike maker’s expertise towards developing strong contenders in the 400cc to the 600cc segment with twin-cylinder engines. Bajaj, on the other hand, will make sure that the middle-displacement Triumph bikes are priced aggressively by building them at its Chakan plant.

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Will there be any clash?

Bajaj has made it quite clear with its partnership with KTM that despite offering similar displacement products like the Duke 200 and Pulsar NS 200, there has been no cannibalization. The main reason for this is the fact that both the brands target different customers and needs. It will be a similar case with Triumph as well, as Bajaj could bring in higher capacity models with two-cylinder configurations at lower price points to chew into the Royal Enfield market share since we expect the partnership to mainly aiming towards developing mid-capacity motorcycles. Imagine a 500cc, twin-cylinder cruiser offering from Bajaj priced under Rs 2.5 lakhs, tempting isn’t it?

This approach will also define the target audience, further distinguishing the range of offerings from each of the brands, as KTM will always cater to the more performance focused audience with single-cylinder offerings, while Triumph should help Bajaj bridge the gap by offering twins with different engine characteristics.

The mid-displacement Triumph bikes are expected to be more on the lines of a scaled down Bonneville range and should compete against the likes of the Harley-Davidson Street 750 and the upcoming Royal Enfield twin-cylinder bike. The Bajaj bike, on the other hand, could be positioned somewhere between the single-cylinder Royal Enfield bikes and its upcoming twin-cylinder siblings. This association strongly suggests the company’s intention of entering into the Royal Enfield territory, which currently is unrivalled.