International Dealer News IDN 154 April/May 2020 | Page 14

THE BRADLEY REPORT
NEWS
BRIEFS
Indian Motorcycle's new Challenger
model is equipped with the Metzeler
Cruisetec tyre as stock fitment - "with
122 hp and 128 ft-lbs of torque, the
Cruisetec's performance characteristics
will stand up to the demands the
Challenger rider will inflict on the
road," says Metzeler.
There is confusion in the UK
concerning the Government's
announced plan to bring its ban
on sales of internal combustion
(and Hybrid platform) vehicles
forward to 2035. The UK
Department of Transport has now
said that the new date is merely
a consultation date and that it
would not include motorcycles
after all. Presumably they would
be banned as of the original 2040
date - but there is no clarity, and
the MCIA in the UK points out
that the UK Government could
decide to include motorcycles at
any time of its choosing without
consultation.
The International Federation of
Robotics (IFR) has announced that
South Korea has doubled the number
of industrial robots it has in operation
within the past five years to 300,000,
and now ranks third globally behind
Japan and China.
There has been a shake-up in the
fiercely competitive UK
motorcycle insurance market,
with Bennetts Insurance coming
under the same ownership
(Ardonagh Group, through its
Atlanta Investment Holdings
subsidiary) as its long-time rival
Carole Nash Insurance.
The IVM in Germany has called on the
German authorities to exempt
automotive and motorcycle workshops
and bicycle shops from the closure
regulations. It cites mobility as crucial
for coping with the coronavirus crisis
and that use of cars, bicycles, scooters
and motorbikes can minimise the risk
of infection and relieve public
transport.
14
Triumph
While at press time we had not
managed to ascertain production
status at Triumph's UK production
plant, there are to be job losses there
anyway as production is moved from
the UK to Thailand.
CEO Nick Bloor has announced that up
to 50 skilled production jobs could be
lost at the Hinckley, UK headquarters
as it shifts its remaining volume
production to its Thailand facilities. At
present all except for two of Triumph's
line-up - the Tiger 1200 and Speed
Triple - are already built in Thailand,
with production transferring to the
existing Triumph production line at
Chonburi, one of the three it has in
Thailand.
It is understood that the UK production
site will now become a low volume
specialist facility for its Triumph Factory
Customs programmes (TFC), specials,
Moto3 race support and global R&D,
creating twenty different jobs in the
process.
Of total production of around 65,000
motorcycles last year, only some 7,000
were built in the UK, and that capacity
will now be reduced to around 4,500.
Triumph says it will brand its UK facility
as its "Centre of Excellence for
Research and Development", with its
Thai factory campus referred to as its
"Centre of Excellence for
Manufacturing".
The changes will involve creation of "a
new 16,000 sq ft, state-of-the-art,
dedicated design centre" in the UK,
and the installation of "a new bespoke
assembly line to facilitate the more
efficient production of specials,
prototypes and the TFCs".
In a statement, Bloor repeated
Triumph's ambitions of seeing further
growth in Asian markets, accepting
that UK jobs would be lost as a result.
"We want to maximise the growth
opportunity for the brand globally,
particularly in Asia. This is why we are
increasing our design resources here in
the UK and focussing our mass
production capabilities in Thailand.
"There will still be manufacturing
capability in the UK, but the role of our
facility in Hinckley will be reconfigured
to enable us to create a more flexible
and high-value capability. The move to
a more specialist production facility
does mean, however, that there will be
between 40 and 50 layoffs from our
manufacturing workforce in the UK."
Ironically it is not as if the privately
owned company is making the move
due to short-term financial pressures
as such - in the context of Triumph's
scale of operations it is doing very well,
so the switch is strategic.
In December 2019 the company
reported racking up pre-tax profits of
around GBP£9.5m ($12.25m/
€ 14.31m) for its last financial year and
posted a £26.8m ($34.55m/€ 31.3m)
increase in its global revenues, which
peaked at £529.5m last year
($682.5m/€ 618.6m).
As reported in IDN #153, after a period
of 'radio silence', Triumph's non-equity
joint venture with KTM share holder
Bajaj Auto is moving ahead, with India
built Triumph models (of various styles
and in the 200 to 500 cc range)
expected to be in dealerships
worldwide in 2022.
According to Triumph Motorcycle
Chief Commercial Officer Paul Stroud,
the first model is expected to carry a
starting price tag in India of around
€ 2,550 (GBP £2,150/US $2,800) and
Alpine: The new Triumph 'Alpine' edition - now to be produced along with
the 'Desert' in Thailand.
INTERNATIONAL DEALER NEWS - APRIL/MAY 2020
will be manufactured at Bajaj Auto's
Chakan facility.
Bajaj is to take over distribution of
Triumph's existing large displacement
models in India (where it currently sells
around 1,000 bikes) and export and
sell the new models worldwide
wherever it has an existing sales
structure. In January, MD Nick Bloor
stated that Triumph's own dealer
network in Europe, USA and elsewhere
will also be 'in-play' when the models
are in volume production, stating that
"the products that will come out of the
partnership will help attract a younger,
but still discerning customer audience
and is another step in our ambition to
expand globally, particularly in the fast
growing markets of South East Asia,
but also driving growth in more
mature territories like Europe".
There has also been some speculation
as to whether Bajaj and Triumph might
strike a deal to make suitably tuned
and compliant versions, possibly
lightweight scramblers and 'trackers',
available through KTM dealers in
Europe and North America.
However, it is believed that KTM owner
Stefan Pierer's brand lust may instead
have seen his eye settle upon Norton,
which went into administration in the
UK in January 2020. Though the news
that Norton owner Stuart Garner sold
the rights to the 961 platform to
Chinese scooter manufacturer Jinlang
just weeks before Norton went broke
may make any deal for the Norton
product line or IP less likely.
Triumph themselves have emphatically
said it is not in the market to "put the
band back together" by bringing the
Norton brand back under Triumph
ownership. The last such relationship
between the two brands (Norton
Villiers Triumph, at Meriden, UK, in the
1970s) didn't end well!
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