CHENNAI: Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles is planning to make inroads into the classic mid-range motorcycles segment, which is currently dominated by Royal Enfield.
Jawa believes its attractive product portfolio, strong lineup, and technological offerings might give it an edge over the competitors. It is also strengthening its retail network to 750 over the next two years from 423 at present. It recently launched Jawa 350, sporting a vintage look with a 334cc liquid-cooled engine, delivering a power output of 22.5 PS and 28.2Nm torque. It has 178mm ground clearance, dual-channel ABS.
Classic Legends Private Limited (CLPL), in which Mahindra & Mahindra owns 60% shares, sells classic-looking leisure motorcycles under legendary motorcycle brands like Jawa, Yezdi and BSA. M&M last month infused `875 crore, along with other investors to the CLPL.
Ashish Singh Joshi, CEO of Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles, said the size of the classic segment is very small in the overall two wheeler market. “How do you slice and dice further? Let’s do things correctly, let’s build things for consumers, it will move from here,” he said, adding that their products are different from others.
Industry believes there is a potential for overall growth in this segment with rising middle class and disposable income. Joshi said their volume would grow when the overall pie increases, without commenting on the target.
It faces competition from the market leader in the mid-range category- Royal Enfield, which commands over 90%. Classics Legends sold 32,368 units in 2023 calendar year (CY) with an average of 2,700 units a month, according to retail sales data shared by Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations of India (FADA). In December 2023, it sold 2,481 units and held 0.17% of the market. Royal Endfield sold 7,150,56 units in CY2023.