Mahindra group owned Classic Legends launched two new scramblers, the Yezdi Scrambler 350 and BSA Scrambler 650 aimed at urban riders seeking versatility across city, trail and highway riding.
Priced at an introductory Rs 1,99,950, the Yezdi Scrambler 350 is powered by a new liquid-cooled ‘Katar’ engine. The BSA Scrambler 650, priced at Rs 3,24,950, is built on what the company says is India’s only 650cc single-cylinder engine in the segment and is already on sale in markets like the UK. “These products are built for riders who want a motorcycle that is equally at home in the city and on trails,” said Anupam Thareja, co-founder, Classic Legends.
Strategic Growth
The launches come at a time when the company is balancing strong growth with a long-term global ambition. Classic Legends grew 55% last financial year in a segment that expanded 90%, making it the fastest-growing player, even as it turned profitable despite elevated commodity costs. “Despite ridiculous commodity prices, our profitability is higher than what we expected,” Thareja said, attributing the gains to operating leverage. The company, however, ruled out any shift towards entry-level or mass-market products to drive volumes signalling a continued focus on premium positioning.
Classic Legends is also scaling its global footprint alongside product expansion. It has added around 250 dealers internationally over the past year, with India set to reach about 500 outlets by year-end. Key overseas markets include Europe, Australia, Japan and Korea, while expansion into the US has been delayed due to tariff-related uncertainties despite a “decent” order book. It also has dealer presence in Brazil and Mexico in South America. “I don’t have the time to build a brand from scratch, and these brands are already known,” Thareja said, underlining the company’s strategy of leveraging legacy marques such as Jawa, Yezdi and BSA across geographies.
Global Expansion
On future technologies, the company remains cautious on electric motorcycles. “As of now, the economics haven’t justified a launch of EV,” he said, adding that regulatory changes could alter the timeline. The brand also has a twin-cylinder engine in the pipeline which will be introduced on a cruiser motorcycle in future however its launch timeline has not been finalised yet.
Looking ahead, Classic Legends plans to expand capacity from around 130,000 units to up to 250,000 units from its plant at Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh. The brand is also exploring facilities in South America and in Europe to assemble motorcycles based on kits supplied from India.
For now, the focus remains on product-led growth. “If you do one launch, I’ll do three,” Thareja said, indicating an aggressive pipeline as competition intensifies in the mid-size motorcycle segment.
