Royal Enfield developing new platforms for the US market

Royal Enfield is planning to introduce new motorcycles based on its brand new platforms, targeting the mid-size segment in the US. Mr. Siddharth Lal, the MD and CEO of Eicher Motors revealed that they were aiming to ‘dominate’ the mid-size motorcycle market in the US with the help of their new products.

Mr. Lal said that the company was developing new platforms which will be introduced over the next three years. Each new platform will spawn different motorcycles, all of them positioned in the 250cc to 750cc segment. “Motorcycles have reached an extreme, with extreme power, extreme speed, and are extremely heavy and extremely expensive. The mid-size market in the US is underserved. We think there’s a market for urban, manageable and efficient motorcycles,” Mr. Lal said.

The mid-size segment has been seeing a lot of activity in recent times, as the iconic American manufacturer, Harley-Davidson, recently launched the Street 750 and the Street 500. While these new Dark Custom models are technically advanced and modern, the Royal Enfield products seem quite outdated in their comparison. This might have encouraged the Indian manufacturer to invest in new products and launch more modern motorcycles.

Royal Enfield is a prominent two-wheeler brand, which has been an epitome of classic motorcycling in India for more than half a century. Despite attracting a cult following over the years, motorcycles of the Chennai-based manufacturer had gained the notoriety of being unreliable and high maintenance. The acquisition by Eicher Motors and the resultant monetary infusion however, gave the loss making manufacturer a new lease of life and since then, there has been no turning back.

Overall quality of Royal Enfield’s new products has greatly improved and the public opinion has also greatly changed. The company set out with the target of reducing its products’ maintenance niggles and reliability issues and the Royal Enfield products have started attracting a wider range of audience. The youth have also started looking at Royal Enfield as a lifestyle brand and its motorcycles demand a waiting period of upto three months, depending upon the model. While Mr. Lal added that the new products will be better suited to the US and European markets, it is quite obvious that the Indian market will get these motorcycles too.