British motorcycle brand Triumph will now be sold by Didi Lifestyle Pte Ltd in Singapore, a new venture with big backing – and big plans 

SINGAPORE – Triumph Motorcycles has officially switched its importership in Singapore, changing from previous dealer Mah Pte Ltd, to Didi Lifestyle Pte Ltd with effect from April 1, 2022. 

In conjunction with this, Triumph’s new showroom, opened by the latter, will be located at 2 Leng Kee Road. The new showroom has approximately 3,000 square feet of floor space and can display up to 20 motorcycles.

As shown, almost Triumph’s entire range was on display, including parts and accessories, and merchandise, as well as a configuration corner.  Service and aftersale for existing Triumph bikes will be fully supported by Didi Lifestyle. It will also offer official pre-owned Triumph motorcycles.

Shown for the first time at the new showroom was the Triumph Speed Triple 1200 RR, a road-biased, big-bore sportsbike with classic styling. The bike has 180hp from a 1,160cc triple cylinder engine, and features semi-active Ohlins suspension.

The new showroom is only the first step for Triumph’s new dealer, though: It has further plans for a 40,000 square foot venue that won’t just be a showroom/dealership, but a location with a strong lifestyle-theme to attract more than just bikers. 

Familiar name, different game 

Heading up Didi Lifestyle is a familiar name – Eugene Mah is the managing director of the company.

Those familiar with the motorcycle trade will know him as the ex-director of Mah Pte Ltd itself, the multi-brand motorcycle dealership founded by his father, John Mah. Despite what appears to be – a continuation of the old business under a new name – Didi Lifestyle Pte Ltd in fact marks a clean break for the younger Mah.

“I’ve got guys who don’t believe it and think that it’s a ploy for my previous company to expand…(or that) my previous employer, my dad, is backing me,” Eugene Mah quoted in an interview with The Business Times. “But there are more who tell me they think this is the right path. It’s very encouraging.” 

The strongest proof of that is Didi Lifestyle’s big backer: The dealership is a joint venture between Eugene Mah and the Goh Brothers Group, a big name in the Malaysian automotive industry. It’s a multi-brand dealership that sells Lexus, Proton, Toyota, and Volkswagen, as well as motorcycles including Aprilia, Harley-Davidson, Moto Guzzi,and MV Agusta. Goh Brothers is itself a subsidiary of the Oriental Castle Group of Malaysia, a distributor for Indian steel giant ArcelorMittal. 

Life on and around two-wheels

Mah first met Goh Brothers’ chairman Goh Kian Sin – a passionate motorcyclist himself – at a dealership meeting in Italy, and decided to work together in 2019. 

Goh feels that a key strength of Goh Brothers will help bolster its dealership in Singapore – the aftersales aspect, including servicing, repairs, and spares. 

But he and Mah also want to shift up the motorcycling scene in Singapore, by appealing not just to a need for speed, but the more universal need to eat, drink, and be merry. 

In Malaysia, Goh created Gasket Alley, a biking and lifestyle location in Petaling Jaya, which marries motorcycle and automobile retail and service elements with food and beverage. Goh and Mah aim to replicate that approach to create a place that people in general will want to visit, not just motorcycling fans, which is where their planned 40,000 square foot future venue comes in.

With Covid challenging the usefulness of physical showrooms versus digital ones, this sort of tack could help inject more interest into motorcycling, and expose it to a wider audience. 

“It used to be that we had to be where the customers are, but now the plan is to create a location where the customers come to you instead,” says Mah.