Mahindra is preparing to position itself as a lifestyle two wheeler company, not only in India, but across the globe. The process has already begun. They bought 51% stake in Peugeot Motorcycles in 2014 and now they have bought iconic motorcycles brands BSA and Jawa. While the company acquired BSA motorcycles last week for INR 28 crores, Jawa will be sold under license by the company both in India and neighboring countries.
Mahindra Group’s two wheeler business is now set under three different entities that include Peugeot Motorcycles in which the company holds 51% state, Mahindra Two Wheelers Limited with 8% private equity investment and Mahindra Group’s recently acquired Classic Legends business holding 60% stake.
Mahindra is of the opinion that Jawa brand will be well received in India, especially the cult following it has managed to keep alive among enthusiasts even after being not being on sale in India for decades now. Speaking about BSA, Mahindra will not be selling BSA branded two wheelers in India due to some branding issues (there is a BSA cycle company in India, which could be the reason).
This means, Jawa will be for sale in India as well as markets abroad, while BSA will only be on sale for markets abroad. Mahindra will concentrate heavily on preserving styling of these two brands which will be seen with the very latest in technology.
Mahindra Two Wheelers continues to sell Centuro and Mojo bikes along with Gusto scooter as of now. Marketing spend on Centuro and Gusto will be scaled down by as much as 80%, with special focus on the Mojo. Four new variants of Mojo are also being planned which will allow the company to note added momentum, greatly needed by the loss making Mahindra Two Wheelers, with reported loss of INR 615 crores in 2015-16.
Mahindra will be launching Peugeot scooters in Indonesia and Vietnam while new products under BSA and Jawa will be launched in the next two years. BSA motorcycles will be launched globally but not in India while Jawa will make its way to India and markets like Sri Lanka.
News Release
History of BSA and JAWA
