Chennai based Indian bike manufacturer Royal Enfield is looking towards the development of new platforms, which will mark its entry in the market in United States of America, sources have claimed. Speaking explicitly about this step, Siddharth Lal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer or Eicher Motors, explained how the firm has lofty plans of entering the US market with the aim to dominate the mid-size bike segment by launching new products.
Lal confirmed in an interview with Mint last month that new platforms were being developed and models using them would be introduced over the next three years. Expected to be positioned in the 250 cc to 750 cc segment, every platform will see launch of new motorcycles. “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,” he said.
According to reports, there has been a lot of activity in the mid-sized bike segment in United States of America as iconic manufacturer recently introduced Street 750 and Street 500. Albeit Royal Enfield bikes are good but technologically, they are much below par in comparison to Dark Custom bikes. For this reason, Royal Enfield will be looking to invest in new products and introduce technologically advanced bikes.
There is absolutely no need of an introduction for Royal Enfield when it comes to the Indian market. In fact, it is one of the standalone brands that represent class and masculinity in an unprecedented manner. Though this is not to say that women cannot ride Royal Enfield bikes but given its World War history, the masculinity and intimidation comes as an indispensable part of the package. Despite all this, there have been accusations regarding the high-cost maintenance of these bikes along with an air of unreliability, which could be true to a certain extent. Also, popularity has not resulted in monetary success and its acquisition at the hands of Eicher Motors will certainly boost operations.
In the past few years, statistically, Royal Enfield bikes have been made better with the opinions of public changing towards the same. Reduction in issues, attracting wider range of customers and changing general opinions, have been some developments that have turned out to be positive for Royal Enfield. Youngsters in the country have been attempting to take Royal Enfield as a brand for regulars and in some cases, there have been waiting periods of thee months for bikes from the company.
Source: LM
