In order to counter the sales slump, Royal Enfield plans to soon launch a more affordable model that will be sharing the platform with the highly successful Bullet range
By now it has become widely known that the entire auto industry of the country has been going through a phase of a slowdown in sales. The companies have been hit so badly that even the highly successful manufacturers, like Royal Enfield have been feeling the heat from the slump in demand.
Talking specifically of the iconic bike maker, it has seen a whopping 19 per cent drop in sales in the first quarter of the current fiscal (on YoY bases). However, the silver lining around the cloud is that the company is now working on an all-new model that should help it revive its sales performance in these times of trouble.
Speaking on his company’s sales performance in the last quarter, Vinod Dasari, CEO, Royal Enfield, has reportedly revealed, “We will also be introducing new motorcycle variants in the coming months to widen our offering and provide greater accessibility to our discerning customers.” From this, it is quite clear that the iconic bike maker has some tricks up its sleeves and these will be revealed very soon in the form of new models.
Speculations abound that one of the upcoming Royal Enfield bikes in India is a low-cost offering that will be based on the same platform as the highly successful Bullet range of models.
The new bike will become the most affordable offering in the bikemaker’s lineup, and could cost roughly Rs 1.2 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). To put things in perspective, currently, the RE range starts with the Bullet 350 ES, which costs Rs 1.35 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi).
Sources lead us to believe that the upcoming variant that Dasari is referring to will become the most affordable motorcycle in the company’s present line-up. This bike will not use the new-gen platform that has been spied on test on numerous occasions, but will instead be based on the existing Bullet platform.
Royal Enfield’s most affordable models at the moment is the Bullet 350 that costs a little more than a lakh rupee. If you want your Bullet with the option of an electric start, you’ll have to shell out Rs 1.21 lakh (ex-showroom, New Delhi) lakh for the Bullet 350 ABS.
It is also being said that the upcoming Royal Enfield motorcycle will be available with both kick and electric start. While the new model would retain the classic look of the Bullet range, it will have a distinct identity through a set of new badges, black-painted engine and other new bits like the indicators and the saddle.
Also, unlike the Bullet, the new model would be pretty much deprived off the chrome treatment. Mechanically, the bike is likely to come with a new version of the 346cc single-cylinder engine that powers the Bullet. Not much more is known at the moment, but we expect more details to come out in the coming weeks.
Last month, it even emerged that Royal Enfield could be also readying a 250cc model to combat the ongoing period of low sales. The new model, if at all in the making, would be slotted below all other offerings, and could even have a sub-Rs 1 lakh introductory price.
The new motorcycle will likely lock horns with the likes of the TVS Apache RTR 200 and the Hero Xtreme 200S. While more details are not available at the moment, what’s for sure is that a lot has been cooking at Royal Enfield to set the RE fans excited.
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