Royal Enfield Bullish On Two-Wheeler Sales Despite COVID-19

Eicher Motors, the parent company of Indian motorcycle brand Royal Enfield, expects increased demand for two-wheelers, as people will be increasingly wary of using public transport amid the coronavirus pandemic. Addressing the company's shareholders in Eicher Motors Limited's annual report for 2019-20, Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director of EML said Royal Enfield is witnessing a strong initial customer interest with the gradual easing of the coronavirus-led lockdown. And as demand picks up, Lal said, Royal Enfield is poised to capitalise on what we described as opportunities.

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Royal Enfield expanded its presence in South East Asia with a new flagship store in Phnom Penh

"Going forward, we do estimate an increased demand for personal transportation and two-wheelers as people would be wary of using public transport. This we believe will augur well for us and the industry as a whole. At Royal Enfield, we continue to make concrete inroads to expand our retail network, while we further strengthen our supply chain and vendor ecosystem. With an aim to further build accessibility through a host of seamless digital solutions and a variety of financial solutions, we are confident of capitalising on this demand as the situation stabilises," Lal said in his address to shareholders in the annual report.

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The Royal Enfield 650 twins have been the mainstay of the brand's international push

Lal mentions that in 2019-20, Royal Enfield has opened new consumer touchpoints across global markets, in Thailand, Brazil, Argentina, France and the UK, with total dealer touchpoints in international markets to over 660 stores, including multi-brand outlets. While the year has been challenging for the industry, Royal Enfield continued to push ahead with its vision of establishing itself as a true global brand, he said, describing that Royal Enfield has had "excellent performance" in markets outside of India.

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"We have recorded overall growth of 96 per cent in international markets which has been highlighted by overwhelming growth across all geographies - both developing markets and matured markets have performed exceedingly well, with Europe registering a 100 per cent growth over last year. The 650 Twin motorcycles, and the Himalayan have led this growth for us across these markets, as these gorgeous motorcycles received unprecedented response from consumers across the globe," Lal said in the company's annual report.

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In the Asia-Pacific region, Royal Enfield's overall footprint grew by 50 per cent, and now features among the Top 5 brands. With twin technology centres now, in the UK as well as in Chennai, India, Royal Enfield is poised to enter a new period of establishing itself, not only in the domestic market, but in the global market as well, with several new products across all-new platforms planned for the next couple of years.