Royal Enfield to discontinue Classic 500, Bullet 500, Thunderbird 500
Royal Enfield expects that the worst is over and once the general economic sentiment becomes positive, they expect to return to double-digit growth.
The upcoming BS-VI emission norms are about to take out a number of legacy cars. Notable mentions include the Maruti Gypsy, Tata Safari, and Tata Sumo.
However, the motorcycle side is set to get its first major casualty. A report by Livemint reveals that Royal Enfield will be discontinuing the 500cc powertrain.
This engine does duty in the Royal Enfield Classic 500, Bullet 500, and Thunderbird 500.
Displacing 499cc, the 500cc single-cylinder, air-cooled, fuel-injected mill produces 27.2 bhp of power and 41.3 Nm of torque. Ever since the introduction of the new Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 and Royal Enfield Interceptor 650, sales of the 500cc models have been dropping.
The manufacturer retailed 14,995 units of the Classic 500, Bullet 500, and Thunderbird 500 between April and October 2019. In comparison, during the same period last year, Royal Enfield sold 25,529 of 500cc motorcycles.
Even in the export market, strong sales of the more expensive Royal Enfield 650 twins have outsold the single-cylinder 500cc models. Not only are the twin-cylinder 650cc models more powerful than the 500cc models, but it also offers more features at the fraction of an increase in cost.
Push-rod engines are more difficult to be updated to meet the upcoming, stricter BS-VI emission norms. While more efficient catalytic converters play a major role, the intake and exhaust of an engine (controlled by push-rods or overhead cams in case of the newer engines) also play a major role by moderating the emissions.
The 350cc models also use a push-rod layout in its powertrain but being the breadwinner for Royal Enfield, this engine will be updated with newer technology, despite the high cost involved.
However, with low volumes for the 500cc models, the economics just does not add up.
Besides the 350cc and 500cc single-cylinder engines, Royal Enfield also has a 411cc single-cylinder (with an overhead cam) that does duty in the Himalaya. The latter will continue to do duty in the adventure-oriented motorcycle and will be updated to meet the BS-VI emission norms.
(Edited by Suman Singh)
