BSA Gold Star launch in India is on the cards. This will be the first motorcycle from the iconic British maker of yesteryears. But, there is a problem…
Classic Legends is the parent company that owns legendary monikers like Jawa, Yezdi and once the British icon BSA. Mahindra bought this very company and is now running the show.
It all started with possibly the most popular Jawa brand – which has so far spawned three different models – Jawa, Forty Two and Perak. Couple of years ago, Classic Legends brought its second brand – Yezdi – in the Indian market, again with three different motorcycles – Scrambler, Adventure and Roadster.
That simply means that it has six motorcycles in the portfolio under two iconic brand umbrellas – all targeting different set of customers. Sales should have spiraled right? Interestingly, Classic Legends is the only manufacturer in this big list of 13 auto makers to have witnessed a (retail) sales fall in the month of July. If one month is too small, then let me tell you it has consistently seen eroding interest from buyers – despite the addition of Yezdi in the portfolio.
With total sales of roughly 25,000-30,000 units a year, after almost six years, Classic Legends can safely be called as a big flop in the Indian market. Just to give you an idea of how big this classic motorcycle market in India is – Royal Enfield retailed over 57,000 units in the single month of July – extrapolating to roughly 7 Lakh units this year! This is despite the fact that Classic Legends had the advantage of owning well-renowned brands that were big success stories during their times.
Next Step
From this year onwards, it appears, Classic Legends, has buckled up and is trying to resurrect its image as a manufacturer. Apart from trying to settle current issues, the next plan is to bring in the remaining moniker – BSA – to India. It must be known that the first motorcycle in this resurrected brand is the Gold Star 650 – that is already on sale in the UK.
It is this Gold Star that will be introduced here, most probably on the 15th August 2024. My question is – WHY?
As far as I remember, Classic Legends intended to keep the BSA brand ‘very premium’ and was skeptical in bringing it to our shores. The odds are already against that motorcycle. It barely manages to be as good on on-paper specs as compared to Royal Enfield Interceptor 650. It has a big single cylinder engine against the twin from RE; and it is also one cog down as well.
But the bigger problem would probably be the price. It may be better than RE’s dual in terms of low end performance but ultimately, it will be seen as a single cylinder motor. This and the fact that it will be made in India, by an Indian brand, may not allow Classic Legends to charge a premium on this.
And that means Classic Legends has another boiler in its hands. If, along with other downers, the pricing is on the higher side, we may have another sales dud from the company.
That brings me to the question – why is Classic Legends even considering bringing it here right now? If a premium perception is what it intends to propagate then, well, it is already late to the party. And the fact that we are talking about a motorcycle that would potentially be around that Rs 4 Lakh mark – we aren’t talking a lot of volumes, right.
So, the chances of Classic Legends losing an ace up its sleeves are high at this point.
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In my opinion, Classic Legends should iron out the problems plaguing its sales of the current models and brands. Once, and if, sales pick pace and the brand recall becomes positive – that would be an opportune time to bring in the premium BSA tag to our markets. And if the winds become favorable – it may, even, charge a slight premium then – and still do better sales than what the Gold Star 650 would potentially do right now. Till that time let that brand increase the international market for Classic Legends.
All the points that I have mentioned above nullify if Classic Legends, somehow, price the BSA Gold Star at an under Rs 2.5 lakh entry tag!
What do you think – will BSA change Classic Legends’ fortunes? If not, then what is the actual need of using it right now, in India?
