Launching a ‘House of Brands’ company in India | The MotoHaus strategy explained | evo India Podcast

In the latest episode of the evo India podcast, we sit down with Tushar Shelke, Chairman & Managing Director of MotoHaus (Kolhapur), which is one of India’s newest two-wheeler manufacturers/OEMs, to understand how he’s building a “house of brands” with Brixton Motorcycles and VLF. We talk about what it takes to bring a global brand to India: CKD assembly, setting up a factory, homologation, supply chain realities (components from China/Thailand), and why MotoHaus is betting big on twin-cylinder motorcycles to fill the gap between 400cc and 800cc. Tushar also explains the thinking behind the Brixton Cromwell 1200 price positioning and how a new brand builds trust with warranty, service, and dealer profitability. On the scooter side, we deep-dive into VLF Tennis and the Mobster, including localisation plans, claimed mileage, India-specific product adaptation, and why physical dealerships still matter in a digital-first era. He also shares the vision for the next few years, targeting 250 to 300 showrooms in 5 years, export ambitions, and what it’s really like to take on India’s giants (Royal Enfield, Bajaj-Triumph, TVS-BMW, Hero-Harley). 0:00 Precap 0:31 Introduction 2:09 Early years and the automotive passion 3:45 Setting up the first dealership in his teens 5:04 Starting MotoHaus 6:53 How did Tushar hear about Brixton Motorcycles 7:28 Does MotoHaus manufacture or assemble Brixton Motorcycles 9:32 VLF scooters 10:00 How does MotoHaus compete with Indian two-wheeler giants 11:36 Is pricing the biggest talking point about Brixton Motorcycles 12:03 Origins of VLF 13:01 How big is the dealer network? 13:47 Who are investors in the dealership? 14:14 'House of Brands' will serve how many brands 15:24 Corporate Identity 16:17 How different will the MotoHaus brands be from others 17:18 Issues faced while sourcing components from China 18:10 The homologation process: Is it easy? 19:04 Learnings from the rise and fall of others' house of brands strategies 20:56 Is an increased warranty offered compared to rivals? 21:56 Matching Italian brand quality to the level of the Austrians 22:38 Expectations v Reality and market acceptance 24:57 Premium positioning 25:51 Plans for extensive localisation 27:13 The setup in Kolhapur 27:54 Investment required to set up an engine assembly 28:23 How much has been invested so fa,r and phase 2 plans 30:06 Interests from VC firms for investments 31:36 The pros and cons of a set up in Kolhapur 33:40 Is MotoHaus part of SIAM? 33:59 Is it intimidating to be on the same platform as the two-wheeler giants 35:55 How soon will we see a bike tailor-made for India 37:02 Will lower cc motorcycles also get a twin cylinder? 37:52 Resale value 38:51 Community building activities 39:38 Breaking the misconception of them being Chinese bikes 41:12 Communicating to prospective customers 42:20 Export ambitions 42:37 Thoughts on recent GST 2.0 revisions and did it derail the business plan? 43:15 Reduction in price of the Brixton Crossfire 45:11 Standing out in a crowded EV market 46:06 5-year goal and targets to achieve 46:55 Importance of physical showrooms 47:23 Plans on having their own platform for sales 48:07 Profitability 49:33 Is it important to have R&D in India? 50:30 Was e20 fuel a challenge? 50:55 S.W.O.T analysis #evoIndia #brixton #vlf #podcast #motorcycles #podcasters Want more #ThrillOfDriving videos? Subscribe to the evo India channel: https://bit.ly/2VfzioP Read our stories here: https://evoindia.com/ Buy #EvoIndiamagazine here: www.evoindia.com/magazine Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/evoindia/ Find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/evoindia/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/evoindia Official merchandise on 100kmph: http://www.100kmph.com/evoindia