Jawa Motorcycles Asks Suppliers To Increase Production To Meet Demand

Jawa as we all know, has gotten off to a flying start in the Indian market with its motorcycles sold out till September 2019. While that does show a lot of interest in the brand and proves Jawa's successful re-entry in the Indian market, it also has resulted in a long waiting period for its customers.

Jawa had been putting more efforts into speeding up the process of manufacturing and increasing capacity at its assembly plants. Now, a report by BusinessLine speaks about the exact manner in which Jawa is speeding up the manufacturing process.

The Jawa brand is one that is deeply etched in the minds of most Indian citizens, especially of those who have seen the motorcycles in the good old days. Back then, these two-stroke motorcycles were a status symbol and they were the dream machines for many.

However, things went bad pretty quick and Jawa Motorcycles were no longer available in the Indian market and it stayed that way for a few decades. In 2018 though, the brand re-entered the Indian market, this time under the umbrella of Classic Legends.

Classic Legends is a subsidiary of Mahindra & Mahindra that was set up with the aim of resuscitating iconic motorcycle brands across the world, and Jawa is its first undertaking. Within just a few months, Jawa Motorcycles had over 100 dealerships up and running and this was great news.

Online bookings were closed in December 2018 and the dealerships continued taking bookings for the retro-styled motorcycles. However, the production rate simply couldn't keep up with the demand.

Deliveries of the Jawa motorcycles officially commenced in March 2019 and yet, the waiting period only increased. In order to meet the demand, Jawa is asking its suppliers to ramp up production, so that the Jawa assembly line too can increase production of the motorcycle. The top management of Jawa is very well aware of the difference in supply and demand.

Ashish Joshi, Chief Executive Officer, Classic Legends Pvt, was quoted as saying, "There is a lot of effort going behind ramping-up (production) with suppliers, and that is showing us very positive results. I think over the next few months, people will start realising that there is a steady stream of motorcycles coming through and (that) people are getting their machines"

He further said that there were around 2,500 components in each bike and these are produced by 700 suppliers. Hence, the onus is not just on Jawa to build up production capacity, but it also depends on the suppliers' capacity to supply the components.

Ashish Joshi also said, "Here we are, with a resurrected brand, a completely new motorcycle (with) a completely new set of suppliers supplying it to us — it takes a little while to get everything up to scale."

"We understand that once you have made up your mind, you want your product or your motorcycle quickly, and we are striving very, very hard. There is nobody here in this organisation who is taking this easy."

The company is also planning to expand the number of dealerships it is currently operating. Jawa currently operates out of 105 dealerships in 82 cities. The company however, plans to expand the number to 120 dealerships over the next few months with a greater reach, going into other cities as well.

Back in November 2018, Jawa Motorcycles launched the Jawa and the Jawa 42. The motorcycles were launched at a price of Rs 1.64 lakh and Rs 1.55 lakh respectively. The Jawa is a hark back to the Jawas of yore and looks exactly like the old two-stroke Jawa motorcycles. The 42 on the other hand is a more modern version, and yet carries the retro design.

Powering the motorcycles is a liquid-cooled, 293cc, single cylinder engine with a maximum power output of 27bhp and a peak torque output of 28Nm. A six-speed gearbox drives the rear wheel.

Thoughts On Jawa Motorcycles Ramping Up Production

Jawa Motorcycles has had a great run in the country so far. It carried a legendary status back then and the same continues even today. With the increase in demand, Jawa struggled to cope with it initially. Now though, Jawa appears to be taking all the steps in the right direction by asking its suppliers to ramp up production.