You still don’t see many of them on Canadian roads, but Royal Enfield is a marque on a mission – a mission that will see them introducing more new bikes in the near future, says their parent company’s CEO.
It’s no secret that Royal Enfield plans to move past their traditional dominance of the Indian market and dominate mid-sized motorcycle sales globally. However, it would be hard to do that with their existing lineup of retro-styled bikes. While nostalgia does sell a lot of machines (see also: Harley-Davidson), nostalgia alone won’t help Royal Enfield surpass their counterparts.
In an interview with India’s Economic Times, Siddhartha Lal, CEO of Eichar Motors (Royal Enfield’s parent company), says they’re working on bolstering their lineup in coming years to help them challenge the competition with bikes in market segments they aren’t competing in right now.
Royal Enfield hasn’t exactly been dormant in the past decade; along with all the behind-the-scenes work (new factories, hiring new designers, etc. – read about it all here), they’ve updated their lineup with fuel injection and brought out the reborn Continental GT cafe racer. But, much of their lineup looks the same as it did ten years ago. That’s about to change.
In his interview with the Times, Lal said their new products will be “between 250- 750 cc approximately. … You can expect one big product every year, in the next 3- 5 years. The last new product that we launched was in 2013 and the next one will be probably 2016.”
In theory, that big new product will be the Himalayan adventure bike that’s been rumoured for months.
It’s good to know that Royal Enfield is so ambitious; competition is always good for the consumer. However, while Royal Enfield’s emphasis is on the overseas market, it seems North American buyers aren’t high on their priority list, with South America and other developing markets of more importance. In other words, you might have to wait a little while if you want your own quarter-litre Royal Enfield.
On this we totally agree.
Their reliability record (for the few that are sold here) seems more than acceptable, so suck or blow Royal Enfield and let’s see some bikes !
I am not sure who’s to blame: The importer, or the parent company. The parent company has certainly said North America is not high on their priority list. But why? Is it because sales are low here, in our non-bike-crazy continent? Or is it because there’s too much red tape to wade through?
Bring the Continental GT in around $5000 and I am sure sales would skyrocket here, if people could actually find a dealer.
The first thing they have to do for North American markets (if they care) is get their pricing in line.
For too long they, like HD, have relied on the nostalgia factor.
They’re are cooled singles fer cryin’ out loud, why should they cost more that Bondo’s KLR650 ?
Yes, this.
If the Continental GT was brought here at an appropriate price point, it would be one of the top sellers in the country.