Riding high on its growing popularity, Royal Enfield will launch multiple products in coming years
In response to media queries, Eicher Motors Ltd. managing director Siddhartha Lal said that Royal Enfield motorcycles are just as good as products offered by Japanese and German manufacturers. Lal was apparently referring to the latest Royal Enfield motorcycles such as Meteor 350 and 650 Twins (Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650).
High precision manufacturing process
Lal’s claim has already been proven in a laboratory test. Earlier this year in March, FortNine had carried out a test to measure the impurities present in motorcycles of various brands. The objective was to measure the preciseness of manufacturing process. The better the manufacturing process, the lesser impurities will be there in the engine.
Royal Enfield had topped the test in less than 5 micrometres category. It was at par with BMW and had performed better than other manufacturers such as Honda, KTM, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Triumph, Suzuki and Harley Davidson. In less than 15 micrometres test, Royal Enfield was placed second.
Lal said that the company has extremely rigorous processes in place, which ensures world class quality. He said the company does not take any shortcuts when it comes to development and testing of its motorcycles. These are the reasons that explain why Royal Enfield is ahead of German and Japanese manufacturers in several international markets.
After-sales service commitment
Customers buying Royal Enfield motorcycles can be assured of dedicated after-sales services. The company had recently launched a global recall program, in which around 2.37 lakh motorcycles were impacted. These were sold in the domestic market as well as global locations such as Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia.
The recall was announced after the company found the possibility of defective ignition coils in specific batches. It was applicable to motorcycles manufactured and sold during the period from December 2020 to April 2021. The affected motorcycles included Classic, Meteor and Bullet range. It is expected that only around 10% of the motorcycles covered under the recall program would actually require replacement of the faulty coil.
Covid impact
Just like other manufacturers, Royal Enfield sales have been impacted by Covid related disruptions. FY21 sales were 5.73 lakh units, which is YoY de-growth of 13%. Most of these sales came from the company’s 350cc motorcycles. Around 24k units were contributed by Himalayan and 650 twins.
Lal pointed out that Royal Enfield sales have been consistently improving in recent years. Regular improvements have been made in design and product quality, which has boosted sales. Apart from its bestselling 350cc motorcycles, Royal Enfield also leads in 500cc-800cc motorcycle segment. Of the 11,523 units sold in FY21, the 650 twins contributed 10,256 units.
Source
Source: Bike - rushlane.com
