Royal Enfield bikes in India will get expensive from April 2010 when the new emission norms come into effect. The company is currently actively working on upgrading its models according to the new BS III And BS IV norms. “Most definitely the new bikes will be expensive. The new engines will be of a different caliber and that will make them expensive," Eicher Motors Managing Director and CEO Siddhartha Lal. However, he did not divulge any further details about the quantum of hike or the prospective date of hike. Currently, a Royal Enfield bike costs Rs. 1 lakh in India.
The company currently sells Royal Enfield Classic, Classic 500, Thunderbird, Machismo and Electra brands in the country. Royal Enfield Classic 500 is one of the most successful models where the company still has pending orders of at least 3000 units in the domestic market and 2000 units for the export markets. According to the Royal Enfield MD, the pending backlog will be cleared in a span of next five months. The company has already delivered 1000 units of Classic 500 since November 2009.
Royal Enfield plans to invest at least Rs. 100 cr to expand manufacturing capacity. It currently has a capacity of manufacture 60,000 units at its Chennai facility which will be expanded to 100,000 units annually.
