Royal Enfield eyes Latin America, SE Asia to grow global business

As Royal Enfield, a part of the Eicher Motors aims to become a significant player in the mid-sized motorcycle segment in the world, it is eyeing various global markets like Latin America and South East (SE) Asia to grow its international business.

The company, which expanded its motorcycle range in the country with the launch of 535cc Continental GT, said the model has given it confidence and belief to do well in the global markets too.

Commenting on the announcement, Eicher Motors MD and CEO Siddhartha Lal said, "We believe the mid-sized motorcycle segment is between 250cc and 750cc, so that's the space we want to play in as Royal Enfield. We believe that this market is totally under-served."

There is traction in this segment and it is open for growth in all the developing markets-Latin America, South East Asia in particular and other markets as well, he added. Globally, the mid-sized motorcycle segment is estimated to be around 8 lakh units per annum. In India the size of the segment is in the range of 2 lakh units, he added.

"We believe the market is going to move up from small bikes to mid-segment and nobody is focusing on this segment, so that is the market we want to get into at global level," Lal said.

The company, which has started deliveries of Continental GT in the UK and some other European countries, believes that the growth will come from the developing markets. "In terms of scale, it is going to come from some of the developing markets. So the first market we are ambitious about selling is Latin America. We are going to commit to the market," Lal said.

Expressing confidence of doing well in the segment, he said, "We want to be number one or number two in every market in the mid-sized category, so that is our ambition in the 250cc-750cc segment." The launch of Continental GT in UK in September is the point when the company shifted its attention to global motorcycling, he added.