Royal Enfield Sales Drop By 13 Per Cent In December 2018

Having posted consistent growth month-after-month throughout 2018, Royal Enfield ended the year with a decline in total sales for the month of December. The bike maker sold a total of (domestic + exports) 58,278 units in December 2018, a 13 per cent drop in volumes as opposed to 66,968 units sold during the same month in 2017. Royal Enfield's domestic sales stood at 56,026 units, a decline of 14 per cent over 65,367 sold in December 2017.

Nevertheless, international sales for Royal Enfield saw a hefty growth of 41 per cent, up from 1601 units shipped in December 2017 to 2252 units exported last month. While the company hasn't stated the reason for the surge in demand, it is likely that the exports have risen thanks to the launch of the Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and the Continental GT 650 in overseas markets.

Royal Enfield's most consistent seller - the 350 cc range saw a drop of 15 per cent in volumes with 53,790 units sold. Meanwhile, motorcycles with a capacity up to 500 cc, which includes the Bullet 500, Classic 500 and the Himalayan increased by 21 per cent last month. This is the second consecutive month, the manufacturer has seen a drop in domestic sales.

In November 2018, the witnessed a 4 per cent decline in sales with 65,026 units as against 67,776 units that were dispatched in November 2017. The drop comes at a time when the company is facing direct competition from the recently resurrected Jawa Motorcycles. Bookings for latter are already open with its retro motorcycles sold out till September this year.