Royal Enfield is planning to introduce a new affordable model in India with a 250cc engine displacement. According to a media report, the brand has enjoyed good sales in the two-wheeler market but since the past four months, market trends have changed and Royal Enfield has seen a double-digit decline in the company’s sales figures and hence, the brand plans to enter the more lucrative quarter-litre market to make the bike available to a wider audience and boost the company’s overall sales.
The quarter-litre Royal Enfield motorcycle in question is under wraps and is currently being researched upon, as of now. The bike is speculated to come with a large choice of personalisation options via in-brand accessories. The idea is to keep the base price low and affordable to attract potential buyer’s, who can then according to choice, personalise the motorcycle.
The two-wheeler company also plans to introduce Royal Enfield Studio outlets which will be a 1/6th size of a standard Royal Enfield showroom. The studio outlets will have 225 square feet of retail space and 275 square feet of the service area and the brand plans to introduce 350 such outlets to target the rural areas. By 2019, Royal Enfield also plans to expand by 80 new dealerships of its regular format stores.
In India, the Royal Enfield product portfolio includes:-
- Bullet
- Classic
- Thunderbird
- Himalayan
- Continental GT
- Interceptor
The most affordable Royal Enfield today is the Bullet 350 priced at INR 1.21 lakh ex-showroom, Mumbai and features a 346cc, single-cylinder, 4-stroke, twin-spark, air-cooled motor with a 70mm x 90mm bore and stroke that delivers 19.8 BHP of power @ 5250 RPM and 28 Nm of torque @ 4000 RPM matched to a 5-speed constant mesh gearbox. The fuel delivery system on the motorcycle is through a 29mm constant vacuum carburettor.
In terms of hardware, the bike gets a single downtube chassis using the engine as a stressed member and rides on telescopic front suspension with 35mm fork diameter and 130mm of travel. The rear suspension is a twin shock absorber with 5-step adjustable preload and gets 80mm of travel.
The 250cc motorcycle is expected to be priced under the 1 lakh mark. The brand is also reported to be working on its new BSVI compliant engine and is developing higher displacement engines at its UK Technical Centre.