Bajaj and Triumph announces global partnership

Rajiv Bajaj, the chief of Bajaj Auto hinted sometime back that they will announce something big in coming days. Everyone speculated the move could be acquiring the Ducati brand. In a very unpredictable move, Bajaj and Triumph have announced a global partnership, which does not include equity.

The announcement of the partnership has limited information, but it does say that the alliance will work to develop a mid-capacity range of motorcycles. The partnership will collectively use the strength of both the companies to develop a new range of motorcycles.

The alliance may see a new range of 300cc to 600cc motorcycles developed by both the brands and branded by Triumph. The arrangement is expected to be same as the KTM-Bajaj, BMW-TVS partnership. The partnership will help both the brands to capture more market shares at a global level.

“We hope to bring to bear upon global markets the individual strengths of the partners including brand position and perception, design and development technology, quality and cost competitiveness and worldwide distribution,” the joint statement said.

How will it work out?

The alliance will give Triumph access to higher volume markets and emerging markets around the world. Bajaj already has a strong hold in several Asian, Latin-American, and African markets. Triumph will get entry into such markets through Bajaj. The Indian manufacturer, on the other hand, will get access to develop higher capacity bikes. Bajaj currently has Dominar as the highest capacity bike. The 373cc engine used in the Dominar has been developed with the Austrian manufacturer KTM.

A few years back, Triumph was into developing smaller capacity motorcycles for markets like India, but the project was later shelved. Triumph stopped the project after their existing line-up started picking up in the Indian market. However, the smaller motorcycles will help Triumph to penetrate the market even more.