Royal Enfield eyes world middleweight domination

Indian manufacturer Royal Enfield is riding a solid wave of success at present – success that the company says is merely a taste of things to come.

Speaking at the recent unveiling of the brand's new Interceptor 650 Twin and Continental GT 650 Twin at the EICMA motorcycle show in Milan, Italy, Royal Enfield's CEO, Siddartha Lal (pictured below, left, next to Royal Enfield President, Rudratej Singh), said the firm was fixed on nothing less than total domination of the global middleweight motorcycle segment.

Meteoric growth
Indeed, it appears the company is off to a flying start in realising that aim, with production rising from a total of 50,000 units in 2010 to over 800,000 units by the end of 2017 – a 16-fold increase.

The company just added a third production facility to its existing two plants in Chennai (Madras), India, and recently opened a purpose-built technical facility in the UK – a site that now employs 125 staff (including numerous defectors from Triumph, whose Hinckley production facility is located nearby).

While the vast bulk of the growth has come from within the massive domestic Indian market, Mr Lal says it's entirely realistic that its attractively priced, retro singles and now twins will gain increasing slabs of export markets around the world.

"We think there's a huge opportunity for middleweights and that’s the starting point of all of this," he said.

"Technically we are already the global leader in mid-size motorcycles, because we'll sell 800,000 this year and we believe the global market to be 1.5 million, so we're already over 50 per cent. But that's a technicality because that's all mainly out of India, and now our ambition is to do that in every country that we enter.

"It might take five years, 10 years, 20 years, it doesn’t matter – but we want to lead middleweights across the world in every market."

With products spanning 346cc to, with the new twins, 648cc, Royal Enfield's full model portfolio falls entirely within the middleweight category, and the company says it's not interested in exploring lower or higher capacities in the future.

Universal appeal
Royal Enfield's President, Rudratej Singh, said the brand's success in India will translate to other markets thanks to the universal appeal of its 'aspirational but accessible' models.

"We divide the market into 'developing' and 'developed', and we believe what we've seen in India is a very unique, precious opportunity that will work in the rest of the world as well," he said.

"A lot of people ask us, 'What's the secret – why are you doing so well?' I don't think there's any secret, but if I was to put a secret formula to it it’s that over several decades we've been able to create this very unique position – which is unique not just in the automotive industry but across all industries – in that we've created a brand that is extremely desirable, yet also extremely accessible.

"That means that our heritage, our legacy, our whole design philosophy which is about representing our authentic past is what people really, really love. India is a very heavy commuter market and Royal Enfield has allowed people to do their everyday commute with a little more engagement, with a little more fun; at the same time the same motorcycle is allowing for them to do their leisure trips on the weekend, the longer journeys.

"So yes, in some ways Royal Enfield has allowed for people in the developing markets to enjoy pure motorcycling, which doesn't take away from their day-to-day requirements. It opens up a window, doesn't it: you're having more fun on your daily commute, but it opens up a window into a leisure world of riding more, of riding pure."

'Extreme' pushback
Mr Singh said he believed the brand was, in established markets, seeing a boost from buyers pushing back against the high-performance machines that populate today's roads.

"When going into developed markets like Italy, like Europe, like North America, we actually see something very interesting," he said.

"In my personal view, I believe that in these markets where there is a strong motorcycling sensibility for enthusiasts that motorcycles have possibly gone to extremes, and I believe that while there is a love for motorcycling, there is not enough motorcycling happening because motorcycles have gone a bit too extreme for real road, day-to-day utility.

"And I believe that's what we've seen happening with Royal Enfield across all the developed markets, we're opening up a segment where enthusiasts feel that with Royal Enfield they can enjoy pure motorcycling more often. That's why we believe that this combination that we've got working for us is going to work in both developing and developed markets."

Bright future
Mr Lal said the arrival of the new 650 parallel-twins would only help Royal Enfield's momentum build.

"We can't wait to get you onto these motorcycles; we've been riding them for years now and we just can't wait for you to experience what we've been experiencing and to have the joy that we've been having," he said.

"And along with our existing motorcycles – our classics, our 350s, our 500s and of course our Himalayan, the 410 – we believe this is a new start for Royal Enfield, it's a new chapter in our progress. These twins we believe will herald the future of Royal Enfield in markets around the world, and we're delighted and excited about it."