Royal Enfield expanding to provinces

Boosted by active sales, Royal Enfield, the manufacturer of classic motorcycles, will expand its service centres to four provinces next year.

Arun Gopal, head of international business for the Indian maker of Royal Enfield motorcycles, said the new centres will be located in Songkhla, Nakhon Ratchasima, Pattaya in Chon Buri and Chiang Mai, and are due to start operations by the first quarter of next year.

Local partners will invest in the provincial service centres, while service quality and spare parts supply will be controlled directly by Royal Enfield.

According to Land Transport Department, Royal Enfield had 809 deliveries to customers over the first 10 months. It received 102 bookings from the latest Thailand International Motor Expo, which ended on Dec 12.

Founded in 1893, Royal Enfield is the oldest British motorcycle brand, but its home production base closed in 1970. In 1994, Royal Enfield became a division of Eicher Motors.

Royal Enfield motorcycles are produced in three factories in Chennai, India.

In the past few years, Royal Enfield has steadily expanded its global footprint in major cities such as London, Madrid, Paris, Dubai, Bogota and Medellin as well as in Asia and Southeast Asia.

The company entered Thailand and Indonesia in 2015. In Thailand, the company appointed General Auto Supply Co as its authorised importer and distributor, running a flagship outlet in Thong Lor.

Mr Gopal said Thailand and Indonesia have the most market potential in Asean with combined annual sales of 8.1 million units (1.6 million for Thailand and 6.5 million for Indonesia).

"We've sold roughly 700 motorcycles in Indonesia now and the expansion plans for service centres to other central locations are similar to the plans for the Thai market," he said.

According to Mr Gopal, the mid-sized Indonesian market's prospects are promising, with annual sales of 50,000 to 60,000 motorcycles.

Royal Enfield defines mid-sized motorcycles as those with 250-750cc engines.

"As the mid-sized segment stays in the middle of pyramid between 250cc and 750cc, we see ample room for growth," he said. "Mid-sized motorcycles can be used for both day-to-day uses and as recreation and are affordable," said Mr Gopal.

There are three models available in Thailand -- Bullet, Classic and Continental GT priced within 179,800-219,800 baht. The Himalayan will be introduced next year.