Royal Enfield eyes growing midsized bike market in N America

In a bid to drive new gains in the USA, its leading export market, Royal Enfield has appointed industry-veteran Rod Copes as president, North America. He will be responsible for driving Royal Enfield’s businesses in the United States and Canada. The announcement comes following the North American launch of Royal Enfield’s Continental GT café racer.

According to Siddhartha Lal, MD and CEO, Eicher Motors, “Rod comes to us with a rich worldwide experience of more than 20 years in the motorcycle industry. His in-depth understanding of the North American markets and marquee brands will be vital for Royal Enfield. USA is an important market for us as we aspire to become the leader in the global midsized motorcycle industry. The midsized motorcycle market is underserved and opportunities are immense on this continent.”

Rod Copes has previously worked with Harley-Davidson for nearly 20 years, most recently as head of Global Sales and Customer Service. He was responsible for growing the company’s businesses across four global sales regions and three product categories: motorcycles, parts and accessories and general merchandise. He spearheaded the brand’s geographic expansion across emerging markets and established offices in locations such as Singapore, Miami (Latin America), New Delhi, Moscow, Dubai, Saul Paulo, Shanghai, Prague, Athens and Seoul. Rod, who is active in several industry associations and business forums, holds both a Master’s degree in Engineering and an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Commenting on his new role, Rod Copes said, “My association with Royal Enfield goes back to my early days in India when I first met Siddhartha. I have admired Royal Enfield’s classic designs ever since. These are exciting times for the motorcycle industry and the North American region provides an interesting opportunity for the brand. While lightweight and heavyweight bikes dominate the motorcycle scene in the USA and Canada, Royal Enfield sits right in the middle with classic, fun, approachable designs that appeal to a younger, urban-oriented demographic. The new generation of riders is interested in a more hands-on motorcycling experience that is part of their lifestyle.”

In 2013, Royal Enfield sold 178,121 motorcycles. For the seven-month period in 2014 (January-July), the bikemaker has sold 165,713 units, registering a growth of 84 percent YoY.