The world may be feeling the effects of lockdown but for Royal Enfield it’s just a momentary pause for what promises to be an interesting year ahead for the Indian firm.
Though a downturn in its native Indian market saw Royal Enfield’s sales slide overall in 2019, it nonetheless posted decent gains globally and it’s this more international outlook that could shape the direction of future models.
While rivals have invested heavily in new technologies – inevitably pushing the prices up – Royal Enfield has focused on its core business to provide excellent value unfussy retro models that are enduringly popular in India and have carved out a niche in other markets.
However, Royal Enfield’s ambitions are set to see it push into new markets in the coming few years and even begin including mod-cons such as Bluetooth and navigation – a big step considering ABS wasn’t offered as standard on models until recently.
With the new Thunderbird-succeeding Meteor 350 on the cusp of hitting the roads, Visordown has already reported a café style racer using the 650 twin engine is being developed as a more ambitious take on its retro style to act as a halo model.
In addition to this, Royal Enfield is set to work on expanding its Himalayan range. The ADV marked a significant departure for the brand and has enjoyed good success globally, which could lead to the current 650 model being joined by a small brother and a larger one too to give Royal Enfield a significant foothold in one of motorcycling’s most lucrative markets.
Beyond this, Royal Enfield is also seriously considering joining the electric motorcycle ranks as India enforces increasingly strict emissions regulations, with the Royal Enfield Concept KX revealed in 2018 could become the inspiration for such a model.
In all, Royal Enfield is said to have presented 14 brand-new models for its range – including lower dispensation models geared towards India.
