Royal Enfield (India)

Royal Enfield is an Indian motorcycle manufacturing brand with the tag of "the oldest global motorcycle brand in continuous production"[3] manufactured in factories in Chennai in India. Licensed from Royal Enfield by the indigenous Indian Madras Motors, it is now a subsidiary of Eicher Motors Limited, an Indian automaker.[4] The company makes the Royal Enfield Bullet, and other single-cylinder and twin-cylinder motorcycles.[5] First produced in 1901, Royal Enfield is the oldest motorcycle brand in the world still in production, with the Bullet model enjoying the longest motorcycle production run of all time.

This article is about the Indian motorcycle manufacturer. For the former British motorcycle manufacturer, see Royal Enfield.

Royal Enfield (India)
Public
IndustryAutomotive
Founded1955 (1955) (as Enfield)
HeadquartersChennai, India[1]
Key people
  • Vinod K. Dasari
    (CEO)
ProductsList of Royal Enfield motorcycles
Production output
 846,000 units (2018)[2]
Revenue ₹8,965.00 crore (US$1.3 billion) (2018)[2]
₹2,808.00 crore (US$390 million) (2018)[2]
₹1,960 crore (US$270 million) (2018)[2]
ParentEicher Motors
Websiteroyalenfield.com

History
Bullet with plain "Enfield" tank badge
Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 350, 2004
Royal Enfield Classic 350, 2010 model
Logo used from 1995 to early 2014

After the Indian Independence Act 1947 the new government looked for a suitable motorcycle for its army to patrol the country's border. In 1952 the Royal Enfield Bullet was chosen as the most suitable bike for the job. In 1954, the government ordered 800 in units of the 350 cc model.[6][7] In 1955, the Redditch company partnered with Madras Motors in India to form 'Enfield India' to assemble, under licence, the 350 cc Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycle in Madras (now called Chennai).[8] The tooling was sold to Enfield India so that they could manufacture components. By 1962, all components were made in India. The Indian Enfield uses the 1960 engine (with metric bearing sizes), Royal Enfield still makes an essentially similar bike in the 350 cc and 500 cc models, along with several different models for different market segments.[9]

In 1990, Royal Enfield collaborated with the Eicher Group, an automotive company in India, and merged with it in 1994.[10] Apart from bikes, Eicher Group is involved in the production and sales of commercial vehicles and automotive gears. Although Royal Enfield experienced difficulties in the 1990s, and ceased motorcycle production at their Jaipur factory in 2002,[11] by 2013 the company opened a new primary factory in the Chennai suburb of Oragadam on the strength of increased demand for its motorcycles. This was followed in 2017 by the inauguration of another new factory of a similar size to the facility at Oragadam (capacity 600,000 vehicles per year) at Vallam Vagadal. The original factory at Tiruvottiyur became secondary, and continues to produce some limited-run motorcycle models.[12][13][14][15]

Royal Enfield announced its first takeover of another company in May, 2015 with the purchase of a UK motorcycle design and manufacturing firm, Harris Performance Products,[16][17] that had previously developed the chassis of the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cafe Racer.[18] Harris work with the UK-based part of Royal Enfield's development team, who are based at the UK Technology Centre at Bruntingthorpe Proving Ground in Leicestershire. The team was established in January 2015, and moved into their new, purpose-built facility in May 2017. By the end of 2019, the team numbered 155 and carries out the full spectrum of design and development activities, from concept generation and clay design to engineering design, prototyping and validation.

Royal Enfield currently sells motorcycles in more than 50 countries. Royal Enfield surpassed Harley-Davidson in global sales in 2015.[19][20]

2014 Continental GT 535

In August 2015, Royal Enfield Motors announced it is establishing its North American headquarters and a dealership in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with the intention to offer three bikes, the Bullet 500, Classic 500 and Continental GT 535 Cafe Racer as they feel this engine size represents an underserved market. The dealership will be Royal Enfield's first company-owned store in the U.S., according to Rod Copes, president of Royal Enfield North America.[21][22] The company wants to establish about 100 dealerships in American cities starting with Milwaukee.

"I live here, so I am biased. But in my mind, Milwaukee is kind of the center of motorcycling in the United States," said Copes, a former Harley-Davidson executive.[23] "We view this as kind of our first flagship dealership," he added.[24]

Later in August 2015, parent-business Eicher announced its entry in Indonesia as a part of its global strategy in the mid-sized (250-750 cc) motorcycle segment, initially starting retail operations from a dealership in Jakarta.[25][26] From April to September, 2015, Royal Enfield's domestic sales were 50% higher than the previous year, despite a declining motorcycle market in India.[27]

2015 floods

Flooding, produced by the heaviest rainfall in Chennai in over a century, caused Royal Enfield to cut production by 4,000 motorcycles in November 2015, followed by a shutdown of the plants in Thiruvottiyur and Oragadam on 1 December, as well as the company offices in Chennai.[28] Production resumed at 50% capacity on 7 December and operations at both plants were back to normal on 14 December.[29]

Interceptor and Continental GT
Main article: Royal Enfield Interceptor 650

Royal Enfield unveiled a 650 cc twin-cylinder engine at their Technology Centre in Leicestershire, England, in November 2017 to power a new generation of Royal Enfield motorcycles. It was showcased at the Milan Motorcycle Show on 7 November 2017 in Italy,[30] where two motorcycles based on the engine, the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 were revealed.[31] Both models were introduced to the US market in November 2018 to positive reviews.[32][33] The Interceptor is marketed as the INT650 in the United States where Honda has a trademark on the Interceptor name.[34]

Manufacturing Plants
  1. Thiruvottiyur, Chennai[35]
  2. Oragadam, Chennai[36][37]
  3. Sipcot Industrial Park, Vallam Vadagal, Chennai[38]
gollark: Great!
gollark: I go to the building labeled "INSTANT DEATH", open the door slightly, and put the undollar in.
gollark: I give the undollar to the person, as a gift.
gollark: I buy the undollar, then.
gollark: I look at the things.

See also

References
  1. "Royal Enfield Ltd India". Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  2. "Royal Enfield Motorcycles - Data & Facts 2019". 6 August 2019.
  3. Can the oldest global motorcycle brand become sexy & cool to draw in a younger audience?, Economic Times, 23 December 2017.
  4. Sinha, Varun (15 January 2014). "Royal Enfield's success boosts Eicher Motors fortunes". NDTV. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  5. Subramanian, Samanth (3 January 2014). "A Cult Motorcycle From India Takes on the World". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 October 2015. A version of this article appears in print on 4 January 2014, on page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: A Cult Motorcycle From India Takes on the World.
  6. Parchman, James (14 May 2009). "A British Classic, but It's New (and It's Not British, Either)". The New York Times. Retrieved 6 November 2015. A version of this article appears in print on , on page AU10 of the New York edition with the headline: A British Classic, but It’s New (And It’s Not British, Either).
  7. Martin, Guy; Dooley, Shaun (narrator); Woodroffe, James (producer) (1 February 2015). Episode 1. Our Guy in India. Channel 4.
  8. Sikka, Bharat (director); Mahajan, Nikhel (music) (7 March 2011). Handcrafted in Chennai (Motion picture). Delhi: Wieden+Kennedy. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 8 December 2015. This bike company belongs to Germany. This film is a tribute to the wonderful people who build, sell, ride and maintain these beloved machines, and a heartfelt tribute to the city that Royal Enfield calls home. Alt URL
  9. "History". Royal Enfield – Official Website. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
  10. Lal, Siddhartha (3 January 2010). "Royal Enfield: Man among boys". The Economic Times. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  11. Sinha, Vivek (28 September 2002). "Enfield strikes at Lightning, to fly Thunderbird". The Economic Times. TNN. Retrieved 30 October 2015. Manufacturing at the Jaipur plant, which has a capacity to produce 13,000 mobikes, is under suspension and according to the plan it is expected to resume operations as soon as the Chennai plant achieves full capacity utilisation.
  12. Thakkar, Ketan (14 May 2012). "Eicher Motors to invest Rs 350 crore in Chennai for Royal Enfield's new plant". The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  13. "Royal Enfield rolls out first motorcycle from Oragadam plant". The Economic Times. PTI. 30 April 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  14. Sunny, Ken (1 October 2015). "Royal Enfield sales jump 59% in September 2015". International Business Times, India Edition. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  15. Balachandar, G. (13 November 2014). "Royal Enfield to set up second project at Oragadam corridor". The Hindu. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  16. Narasimhan, T. E. (12 May 2015). "Royal Enfield buys UK-based firm Harris Performance". BS Motoring. Business Standard. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  17. "Royal Enfield acquires UK based Harris Performance company". The Financial Express (India). PTI. 12 May 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015. ...Royal Enfield will acquire all assets, employees, trade names, technical know-how and intellectual property of Harris Performance Products Ltd, the company said in a statement without disclosing the deal value.
  18. Yu, Andria (3 August 2014). "Motorcycle review: Royal Enfield looks for comeback". USA Today. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  19. Doval, Pankaj (2 February 2015). "Royal Enfield races past Harley-Davidson in global sales". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 November 2015. Although HD motorcycles sell at a huge premium over their RE kin (HD's most affordable model in India sells for around Rs 5 lakh while RE's most expensive model comes for Rs 2 lakh), what's remarkable is the stunning turnaround by one of the world's oldest motorcycle brands.
  20. Balachandran, Manu (22 February 2015). "How Royal Enfield won over the Indian motorcyclist—and now looks unstoppable". Quartz. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  21. Nabanita Singha Roy (18 January 2015). "Royal Enfield President rides a Continental GT". RushLane. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  22. "Royal Enfield names Rod Copes as President for North American operations". The Economic Times. PTI. 6 August 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2015. Copes has previously worked with Harley-Davidson for nearly 20 years, most recently as Head of Global Sales and Customer Service.
  23. Barrow, Olivia (4 September 2015). "Full Q&A: Royal Enfield is entrepreneur's dream for Rod Copes". Milwaukee Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 24 October 2015. When Rod Copes left Harley-Davidson Inc. in 2012 to pursue an entrepreneurial dream of running his own manufacturing business, he thought he had kissed the motorcycle industry goodbye.
  24. Barrett, Rick (17 August 2015). "Motorcycle manufacturer from India to open North American headquarters in Third Ward". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved 7 November 2015. The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation has agreed to provide Royal Enfield with up to $100,000 in tax credits through 2017.
  25. Philip, Lijee (24 September 2015). "How Royal Enfield's Siddhartha Lal seeks to replicate India's success in overseas markets". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
  26. "Royal Enfield enters Indonesian market in mid-sized motorcycle segment". Business Today. Indo-Asian News Service. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  27. "Royal Enfield one bright spot in gloomy motorcycle market". The Economic Times. PTI. 18 October 2014. Retrieved 24 October 2015. The company's performance is in sharp contrast to the overall segment, which has been reeling under a slowdown with rural sales affected by below normal monsoon in several parts of the country.
  28. "Production at Royal Enfield's Chennai plant hit by floods". Business Line. PTI. 3 December 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  29. "Royal Enfield resumes normal operations at two plants in Chennai". Daily News and Analysis. PTI. 18 December 2015. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  30. Sonil, Naveen (6 November 2017). "Royal Enfield unveils 650cc twin-cylinder engine". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 November 2017.
  31. "Royal Enfield Enters New Era With Two 650s, the Interceptor and Continental GT". 8 November 2017.
  32. "2019 Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT | Road Test Review". 5 October 2018.
  33. "2019 Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 First Ride". 18 November 2018.
  34. "2019 Royal Enfield INT650 First Ride". 26 November 2018.
  35. "Royal Enfield – Official Website". royalenfield.com. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  36. "Royal Enfield opens unit at Oragadam". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  37. "Royal Enfield opens unit at Oragadam - Royal Enfield News". royalenfield.com. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
  38. www.ETAuto.com. "Royal Enfield to double its production capacity; setting up third plant in Tamil Nadu - ET Auto". ETAuto.com. Retrieved 10 June 2017.

Further reading
  • Gregson, Jonathan (1997). Bullet up the Grand Trunk Road. London: Sinclair-Stevenson. ISBN 9781856196604.
  • Hartley, Peter (1981). The story of Royal Enfield motor cycles. Cambridge Cambridgeshire: P. Stephens. ISBN 9780850594676.
  • Köster, Dirk W. (16 April 2007). Royal Enfield : une légende vivante (in French). Boulogne-Billancourt: ETAI. ISBN 978-2726887073.
  • Köster, Dirk W. (1 August 2009). Royal Enfield - die Legende lebt (in German) (Lizenzausg. ed.). Münster: Monsenstein & Vannerdat. ISBN 978-3938568927.
  • May, Gordon G. (2005). Royal Enfield : the legend rides on : celebrating 50 years in India (1st ed.). Chennai, India: Royal Enfield. ISBN 978-8190312905.
  • May, Gordon G. (30 November 2008). Overland to India: An 8400 Mile Adventure on a 55-year-old Motorcycle. Rixon Groove. ISBN 978-0956116802.
  • May, Gordon G. (2014). Made in India - The Royal Enfield Bullet (4th ed.). Stockport, Cheshire: Royal Enfield Books.
  • Walker, Mick (24 February 2003). Royal Enfield : the complete story. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Crowood. ISBN 978-1861265630.
  • Wilson, Steve (18 September 2000). Down the road : genuine mileage on classic motorcycles. Sparkford: Haynes. ISBN 9781859606513.
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