Royal Enfield has finally launched their most awaited motorcycles, the Interceptor and the Continental GT 650 in US. The Interceptor has been priced at $5799 in US whereas the Continental GT 650 is $200 more expensive at $5999.
Converting it to the Indian currency, the Interceptor comes at Rs 4.3 lakhs and the café racer variant carries a price tag of Rs 4.21 lakhs. This is considering the current INR value, which by-the-way has been the least performing currency in Asia. So the Indian prices for the RE twins could have seen a lesser price if it was launched a few months ago when the INR was performing well.
Now let us bring the Classic 500 ABS into this story. Why? Because the Interceptor is just $200 more expensive than the Classic 500 ABS in US. And that is something. This brings us to the Indian perspective. Will Royal Enfield apply the same pricing strategy to the Indian market? It looks to be very likely.
The Classic 500 ABS gets an ex-showroom price tag of Rs 1.98 lakhs. Let’s take it as Rs 2 lakhs, so that we can play with the mental barrier. So the Interceptor is Rs 14,000 more expensive than the Classic 500 ABS in US. For India, even if we consider a price hike of Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 over the Classic 500, the final pricing will be under Rs 2.5 lakhs and that looks tempting, doesn’t it?
The Interceptor doesn’t really deserve anything more than that if you ask us. It doesn’t really make sense to pay around Rs 70,000 to Rs 1 lakh more for just one extra cylinder. We know it’s a new bike. So, the company has to consider the R&D and production cost, along with their marketing expenses. But Royal Enfield is a master in automotive economics and might have carefully done its homework. Also, pricing it close to the Classic 500 ABS will eventually kill that motorcycle. It’s based on a very old platform and the engine too is quite old. This strategy works for the company as there will be more sales for the Interceptor, and more people venturing into the new world of Royal Enfield. It’s a win-win situation for both.
Siddharth Lal, CEO of Eicher Motors, has always believed in bringing the right product at an affordable price. The Himalayan was one such example. And we believe he and his team will do the exact same thing with the new twins. India is their biggest market, and will continue to be one for years. If the Interceptor does manage to fit under under the Rs 2.5 lakh (ex-showroom) mark, then it will definitely be a hit. Plus, there are only two motorcycles in that price range, the KTM RC 390 and the KTM 390 Duke, that target a completely different set of audience. But the temptation of owning a twin-cylinder motorcycle in the same price bracket could make a few prospective buyers jump from KTM to Royal Enfield.
