Royal Enfield is planning to introduce a refreshed avatar of its Thunderbird model in the Indian auto industry, which will replace the current generation model. The second generation model will be assimilated with the same air cooled single cylinder 4-stroke Twin Spark engine, which has been incorporated in Classic 350 and 500 models.
Reportedly, the upcoming model will be offered in two different variants, namely 350 and 500. However, both the models will share its parts which will help the auto maker in pricing them economically. Industry experts believe that the price of upcoming Thunderbird will be more reasonable than the existing model owing to the favourable advancements in technology. Features that are anticipated to be a part of new model are projector head lamps, fuel injection, gas charged suspensions, disc brakes at rear and digital console, among others.
The advancements incorporated within the 2012 Thunderbird are of high quality and offered at an economical price. Besides, the new model is expected to have a 20 litres fuel tank, which will enable the motorcycle to cover a longer distance. With the launch of a new model around festive season, sales of the auto maker are expected to witness a boost.
Reportedly, the Indian arm of General Motors will be introducing three new models before the end of 2012. The auto maker will be launching the hatchback model of Sail somewhere in October and November, which will be then followed by its sedan guise. Launch of Enjoy Multi Purpose Vehicle (MPV) before the end of this year is also in the list General Motors.
Besides, export of small diesel engines from India to other parts of the world is on the cards as well. On this, Sabbarwal said, “We have received requests from some of GM's operations in other countries to supply powertrains from here... We are under discussion.”
From India, GM has been receiving requests to ship 1.0 litre and 1.3 litre diesel powertrains, which are presently produced at its Talegaon facility. The engine plant was installed with a whopping investment of USD 230 million, which has the initial capacity of producing 1.6 lac units every year.
Coming back to launches, the auto maker has pinned high hopes with the Sail model, which will be introduced from the end of its Chinese partner SAIC. The President and Managing Director of GM India, Lowell C Paddock had said that this launch will surely expand its brand presence in the country and will pull in some decent volumes. He also anticipates that the upcoming hatchback will soon turn out to be the best selling model in India. Presently, GM’s Beat is the best seller in the country, which has clocked around 4,500 units in September 2012.
