The giants of the Indian motorcycle industry are planning an assault on European and UK markets. As a result, we could see a new generation of bargain-priced mid-range bikes on British roads.
An article in trade magazine British Dealer News pinpoints Bajaj, Hero and TVS in particular. Until now, they’ve all been selling bikes to the West ‘under the radar,’ by building machines for Western brands. Think the BMW G310GS (built by TVS) and Triumph’s 400 plus the smaller KTMs (made by Bajaj). Royal Enfield of course, has been a slow burn Indian success story in the UK for many years. All are attracted by selling their mid-size offerings to Europe for fatter profit margins than they get on the home market.

At Eicma in November 2023 Hero showed several small bikes and scooters which looked market-ready for Europe, including the Xoom 125R scooter, electric Vida V1 and ExTunt motorcycle – these should be on sale in the UK, France, and Spain this summer, with Chorley-based importer MotoGB as distributor. Meanwhile, TVS has signed a Europe-wide distribution deal with the Emil Frey Group, selling bikes making use of the 310cc G310 engine (assuming BMW doesn’t object) plus a whole raft of smaller machines. This will be quite separate from TVS’s Norton subsidiary in the UK.

Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF, welcomed the likelihood of greater diversity and competition in the mid-size bike market: “That’s what we really, really, need; well proven machines from world class manufacturers, at sensible prices. The biggest barrier for many riders is price, loading new bikes up with tech, as ‘added value’ is no substitute. Don’t even get me started on Ebike comparisons, where they’re compared with top of the range ICE bikes and we’re told that they’re comparable value. That’s like telling Fiesta segment buyers that their next vehicle is going to be price comparable with a 3 series, only electric. Nobody’s that stupid.”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of Bajaj Auto