The world’s oldest surviving motorcycle manufacturer, Royal Enfield, is working on new models ranging from 250-800cc to emerge as a leading brand in the international market. Royal Enfield is visualizing their success as a segment leader of international mid-size market in the next 5-10 years. In India, company’s next launch will be of its flagship model Continental GT (known as Cafe Racer) powered by a 536cc engine, which will be priced around Rs. 2 lakhs in India.
Royal Enfield has started its business in India in 1949 and sold 800 motorcycles to the Indian Army, enough to conceive the image of Royal Enfield’s as hardcore motorcycles in every Indian mind. In 1955, the company partnered with the Madras Motors to assemble the Bullet in India. Royal Enfield was founded in England by a weapon manufacturer, bespeaks the motorcycle logo with a cannon and the company’s slogan “Made like a gun, goes like a Bullet”. At conception, the company name was Enfield but after serving in the second World War, the name was changed to the Royal Enfield.
Royal Enfield India currently exports its motorcycles to developed countries like the USA, Australia and the European markets where no doubt it has the same cult following as in India. Now the company is focusing on emerging markets like South Africa and Latin America where people are looking for better motorcycles with ruggedness over traditional motorcycles. Royal Enfield is working on new products ranging from 250-800cc displacement, to compete in the complete mid-size segment internationally.
The newly build manufacturing facility at Oragadam, Chennai increases the manufacturing capacity to the 2,50,000 units and is capable of producing upto 5,00,000 units, according to future demands. The company sold around 1,10,000 units last year while exports was just 3% of total sales. The new product range will certainly boost the company’s sales and will help Royal Enfield to achieve the target of 10% exports of its total sales. Currently Royal Enfield will concentrate on the below 650cc segment with higher capacity machines coming in the distant future.
