The Classic 500 sales dropped by 68 per cent last month and the launch of 650 Twins might be the reason for the sales drop
Royal Enfield sold 854 units of Classic 500 in January 2019 compared to 2,653 units in same month last year and posted a 68 per cent drop in sales. Overall, January was not a good month for the company as sales dropped by 7 per cent. The retro-bike manufacturer recently updated the Classic 500 with ABS system, which made it even more expensive.
One of the reasons for the drop in sales of Classic 500 might be the introduction 650 Twins as these motorcycles are priced very aggressively. The price difference between both these models is not high, so it might prompt the customers to upgrade. Royal Enfield sold more than 1,000 units of 650 Twins last month.
In 2018, the company sold 26,589 units of Classic 500. Last month, Royal Enfield also announced a price hike of 1-2 per cent depending on models. The Classic 500 is available in three colour options – Classic Tan, Classic Black and Classic Silver. Currently, the company offers both ABS and Non-ABS variants as they can sell it until April.
The Classic series is the most popular model of Royal Enfield and the entry level 350 cc variant is the volume model of the company. The design theme of Classic makes it stand out from other models as it gets a retro theme with round headlamps, basic analogue instrument cluster (fuel gauge is missing) and a single piece handler bar also.
The Classic 500 is powered by 499 cc single cylinder engine producing 27.2 bhp of maximum power at 5,250 rpm and 41.3 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm. This engine is mated to a 5-speed gearbox and the braking performance comes from 280 mm disc at the front and 240 mm disc at the rear. Royal Enfield is offering dual channel ABS braking system as standard.
The waiting period of Classic models is really high as it extends to six months in some places. The recent strike in Royal Enfield plant will likely increase it by a couple of weeks as some reports indicate that loss of production is more than 3,000 units. But this strike hasn’t affected the export market as 650 Twins are only manufactured in India.