The sales of Royal Enfield motorcycles grew by 53 percent while at the same time Yamaha India’s sales fell by 4.4 percent. Royal Enfield is now the fifth-largest motorcycle maker in the country.
The Royal Enfield story can be easily termed as the best turnaround story of the decade. From a motorcycle maker famous for being stuck in the 1950s to the present day brand which has a cult following, Royal Enfield is a textbook example of how to successfully run an automotive company. The best poster for that is the company’s sales chart for FY2016, which shows Royal Enfield sales growing by 53 percent last fiscal year, displacing Yamaha from the fifth-largest motorcycle maker spot in the country in the process.
Royal Enfield sold 4,98,791 units in FY2016, which is a 53 percent growth over its sales in FY2015 of 3,24,055 bikes. This and the fact that Yamaha sales in India fell by 4.4 percent to 3,32,958 in FY2016 led to Royal Enfield being the fifth-largest two-wheeler maker during the period. In fact, Royal Enfield’s sales volumes grew by more than 50% in each of the past four years.
Industry experts say that this success of the Chennai based two-wheeler company is because it has been able to create not only products for the market, but also the market itself for those products and a cult following for its brand. Royal Enfield is also pursuing international markets aggressively as it opened a sales subsidiary in the US, started exclusive retail stores in France and Spain, and now have over 400 dealerships overseas.
In India, the company has the Himalayan, Electra, Classic, Thunderbird and Standard Bullet motorcycles in its portfolio. The company is in the process of setting up a third plant in Vallam Vadagal near Oragadam to meet the rising demand and increase the production capacity to 9,00,000 units by 2018.
Royal Enfield Overtakes Yamaha In FY2016
– Royal Enfield was the fifth-largest motorcycle maker by sales in FY2016, ahead of Yamaha
– The company’s sales grew by 53 percent last year and it sold 4,98,791 motorcycles in India
– Yamaha sales in India fell by 4.4 percent to 3,32,958 units in the same time period
– Royal Enfield’s sales volumes grew by more than 50% in each of the past four years
