He had spearheaded the acquisition of this legacy brand from the Kanpur-based promoters in 2021 and followed this up with showcasing three products in September 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of the scooter maker. These included the Star scooter, Orion e-bicycle and the Moonshot e-hyperbike.
At that point in time, it was widely assumed that these products would be launched in the following year. However, market feedback suggested that the LML brand was synonymous solely with scooters. “We collated all critical inputs and problematic areas, which customers face with other electric scooters, have been addressed,” said Bhatia.
His team has been been working overtime to ready the LML Star for launch towards the end of this year at a competitive price which will attract all age groups. In the meantime, the company has moved into a new corporate office in Gurugram, which was formally the premises of Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India. The manufacturing facility is at the former Harley-Davidson plant in Haryana while yet another parcel of land has been acquired to create the entire vendor system for LML to address global markets in the coming years.
Chill and thrill
“There has been a lot of work done since the time we unveiled the three products way back in September 2022. We have now decided to launch only the LML Star motoscooter for now before thinking of other products. It will combine the chilled out attitude of a scooter with the thrill of a motorcycle,” said Bhatia.
According to him, the Star is a familiar brand in Europe too, especially Italy which is the home of Piaggio and the erstwhile ally of LML for decades till they broke up sometime around 2000-01. During the time of the alliance, the LML Star geared scooter based on the Piaggio Vespa PX, was exported to Europe and is still remembered today.
“We have already been getting enquiries from dealers in Italy and elsewhere for the electric Star,” said Bhatia. The 150cc two-stroke scooter was called Star De Luxe in Europe and Stella in the US. Vespa is, of course, the big draw in Italy and has now been resurrected as a premium scooter in India by Piaggio Vehicles which has its own facility in Baramati, Maharashtra.
Yet, continued the LML MD, Star has sufficient recall value too in markets like Italy which gives him the confidence that it will do well in Europe. Incidentally, the upgraded version of this scooter was called Select 2.
Raising the bar
“There is a rich legacy with LML and people will realise that the Star is not a ‘Me too’ product. We are readying something that is well thought out. LML will offer solutions beyond what is being offered by electric two-wheeler brands today,” said Bhatia. This would include critical aspects like the battery and warranty.
He reiterated that Star would be a mass premium offering and in a niche of its own. EV buyers are also “better aware” now with greater levels of maturity gained over the last couple of years. Initially, affordability was the top priority for them but today they are willing to pay more for an EV so long as it meets their basic needs of operating costs.
“Customers are smart, demanding and seek value. LML Star is a lifestyle brand and from our point of view, better late than never. For LML, the EV epitomises an empowered vehicle in the electric space,” said Bhatia. There are nearly 70 people at the R&D level within the organisation while work is farmed out to 200-odd professionals externally. The sales team will be in place post launch.
LML Star, he added, would focus on style and safety along with mileage and range. The MD is confident that it will stand out in the rapidly growing electric two-wheeler lineup that is part of India’s roads. Right now, the top players are Ola Electric, TVS Motor and Bajaj Auto. Whether LML can make a difference will be seen in the coming months.
Rewriting history
For Bhatia, the stakes could be particularly high considering that he has no other investor on board. “I am part of a traditional business family and we are not into burning cash. Neither am I a product of Stanford or Oxford but a child of my father’s school of business,” he said.
During its heady days in the 1990s, LML was the closest challenger to Bajaj Auto in the geared scooter segment. Motorcycles were part of the landscape as also gearless scooters but the geared scooter was still the monarch of all it surveyed till it bowed out.
Can the new LML now rewrite history in the electric space? Bajaj Auto has already made an impact here with its Chetak, another legacy brand, that has gone through a successful makeover as an electric scooter. LML Star has its work cut out in this intensely competitive segment where its former rival has had a head-start.
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