Copyright © HT Media Limited
All rights reserved.
Mahindra and Mahindra has announced that it will invest around ₹525 crore on its Classic Legends unit, which owns two-wheeler brands like Jawa, Yezdi and BSA. The carmaker said that the Classic Legends will get up to ₹875 crore within the next three years, some of which will be spend by other investors as well. The move is seen as an attempt to step up Classic Legend's premium motorcycle game in India with the advent of other players like Harley Davidson and Triumph through Indian players like Hero MotoCorp and Bajaj Auto.
Mahindra and Mahindra, which is known for its SUVs like Thar, Scorpio-N and XUV700 made the announcement on Wednesday during an exchange filing. The carmaker currently owns around 60 per cent stake in Classic Legends, a brand revived by Mahindra to help bike manufacturers like Jawa, Yezdi and BSA. Mahindra said that with the upcoming investment, Classic Legends will try to step up its game in the premium motorcycle segment in India. Mahindra has not revealed the names of the other investors who will share the cost with it.
The Classic Legends helped some of the iconic two-wheeler brands like Yezdi and Jawa to be reborn with fresh offerings. Last year, Yezdi returned to India with three new motorcycles - the Adventure, Scrambler and Roadster. The Yezdi Adventure was launched at ₹1.98 lakh (ex-showroom), while the Yezdi Scrambler was priced at ₹2.05 lakh (ex-showroom) and the Yezdi Roadster was launched at ₹2.10 lakh (ex-showroom). Despite its efforts, Classic Reborn has not been able to emulate success enjoyed by the likes of Royal Enfield.
The premium motorcycle segment in India is currently dominated by Royal Enfield, owned by Eicher Motor. The two-wheeler manufacturer recently launched the new Himalayan motorcycle. Harley Davidson, which made a return to the Indian market, has launched the X440 motorcycle earlier this year. Co-developed with Hero MotoCorp, it is the most affordable Harley-Davidson motorcycle one can buy in India. The motorcycle is priced between ₹2.29 lakh and ₹2.69 lakh (ex-showroom).