Royal Enfield opens new dealership in Phuket, Thailand
Indian motorcycle maker Royal Enfield entered Thailand in 2015, and retails the Bullet 500, Classic 500, Himalayan, Interceptor 650, and Continental GT 650.
Chennai-based retro-styled motorcycle maker Royal Enfield is expanding its grounds. The manufacturer earlier consolidated its footprint in the Philippines and is now turning its attention to Thailand, opening a new touchpoint in Phuket. A major tourist hotspot, Phuket has the potential to be a major volume garner for Royal Enfield.
It was in April 2018 that Royal Enfield had announced its plans to open a manufacturing plant in Thailand. This plant went operational in June 2019 and assembles CKD (Completely Knocked Down) parts shipped from India.
This will allow Royal Enfield to price its products competitively and further reduce its operating costs, thus increasing profits. Ever since commencing operations in Thailand, the company has sold over 2,000 motorcycles in the country.
Besides selling motorcycles, the new dealership will also retail official Royal Enfield accessories. These include riding jackets, shoes, gloves, helmets, and t-shirts.
Royal Enfield is the global market leader in the 250cc to 750cc middleweight motorcycle segment. In November 2019, it sold 60,411 motorcycles in the domestic and international market, a drop of 10 percent from the 65,744 units sold in the same month last year.
The company’s domestic sales have been impacted by due to the ongoing economic slowdown. However, strong exports demand of the new Royal Enfield 650 twins in international markets has worked in its favour.
To help the domestic arm bounce back, Royal Enfield will open 300 studio stores in India by March 2020. These new studio outlets need a significantly lower amount of investment from its dealer partners.
It is also gearing up to launch BS-VI compliant version of its existing product portfolio.
While the 500cc range may be axed, the company will be launching a new powertrain for the 350cc platform. Hopefully though, this time, the 350cc engine will use an overhead cam to move the intake and exhaust valves instead of the pushrods doing duty in the present iteration.
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)
