Date:
12 Sep 2017
| Author: P.Tharyan
Are you satisfied with the way consumers have accepted your products in
India?
Basically the Renegade Commando
and the Renegade Sports S that we had launched last year were the BS III
carburetted version. It was for a short period of time before the BS IV
regulations came in. We have delivered more than 10,000 units in the last 10 to
11 months. We have received very good feedback from the customers on the
product, on the riding experience, the features and the comfort. We have
designed these products keeping in mind the Indian terrain, the customers and
their preferences. With the launch of the new Renegade Commando Mojave and
Classic we are extending the Renegade family to reach out to different kinds of
customers looking for cruisers.
UM was an unknown brand in India. Are people now more aware of this
brand?
The fact that we are not known in
India has given us a lot of possibility to define the brand as we want it in
India. Worldwide, we sell different kinds of motorcycles in different
categories with different displacements, in India we are focussing only on the
Renegade family which are cruisers. Realistically we are into our first year
and we have not done much of noise. We were enhancing our production capacity
and stabilising our product, this is our first product in India, manufactured
in India with a lot of components coming from many different places. We decided
strategically to start very slow. We have around 59 dealers in India in less
than 18 months.
We have positioned UM as an
exclusive brand. We are not a massive brand. Our intention is to give our
customer a more premium-ness and exclusiveness within the segment. It is now
that we are starting our aggressive market across the nation, this month. We
are prepared in all aspects.
How do you foresee demand for your motorcycles shaping up in the coming
times?
Today India is the largest market
in the world in terms of units sold. It is largely a market for lower cc and
less expensive bikes. We see India as an evolving and rapidly growing market.
Consumers are looking for higher displacement bikes with more features. There is
more focus today on brands
It is not what the bike gives you
but what the brand gives you. We think it is an aspirational market. We also
see a shift to higher cc motorcycles happening very rapidly. This 250cc to
400cc segment will pick up sales very quickly. We have a very clear road map
for India market ten years down the road. India is also becoming a very big
development hub for us, not only for the Indian market but for exports also.
Next year we shall start
exporting these Renegade models to Europe. We are launching ABS. India is
becoming a hub for higher cc motorcycles and the Renegade Classic segment of
bikes. Today we are actually exporting to Nepal and Bhutan. For Europe we
already have the Euro IV homologation Type. We have not launched the 300cc bike
because we do not have ABS. We have not been able to meet the demand of the
domestic market. Our marketing and advertising is now going to come into place.
Our first priority is to feed our dealers, our Indian consumers. Our main focus
is to consolidate our position in India.
Is it challenging for you to compete with big brands like Royal Enfield
and Bajaj Auto in the 300 Plus cc motorcycle market?
Every large company today was
once small and was competing against larger companies at that time. The fact
that we are small makes us very agile, we take decisions very quickly, we grab
opportunities and we are very connected to the market. . We are talking to our
customers, we are riding our bikes. This is a company driven by riders. We are
not obsessed of reaching the number one position or dethroning the leader. We
believe that we are making an excellent product. We are creating a segment of
Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 2 lakh with beautifully loaded cruisers, with great style and
great performance. The product not only looks good, but it rides good, it has
good top speed without vibrations, it has good torque, good pick up, good
handling and good cornering. This product was designed based on the feedback of
clients. We spent two years doing focus group, prototypes, riding, and we are
focussing on ourselves, rather than on the competition. We are very sure of the
product we have, we know it’s tough but we also have a very clear strategy
moving forward product wise, engine wise, platform wise, etc. We are very hungry
and we are very aggressive.
What made you come out with the new Renegade Commando Classic and
Mojave?
Cruisers are a world of
customisation. If you look at the big brands in cruisers in higher cc, there
are versions and versions of the cruisers. That is the nice thing about the
cruiser segment. You make some changes, you put some chrome, you do some
cosmetic changes, it then appeals to another kind of customers. But this
Commando Classic particularly has only one purpose in mind—to give the bike to
the customer which is ready for touring which is not available in the market
today. We put premium saddle bags, we have put high leg guards, we have added a
standard windshield and we have added a tank cover with a pouch. The chrome is
appealing to those customers who want bling, bling. The Mojave colour is
inspired by the desert of Mojave in Arizona in the US. We took the existing
Commando which is the largest selling of our product range, and we said let us
dress it for adventure. I believe that this is the most exciting time for any
brand to take up a challenge, to make things with a lot of passion, because
this is how we do things. These products have our signature in them.