Iconic bike maker launches all-new Thunderbird 500 cruiser and equips 350cc model with a host of first-time features on a Royal Enfield.
Tapping the growing community of young, urban riders and the upcoming touring trend, Royal Enfield launched the much-awaited Thunderbird 500 cruiser motorcycle in Mumbai. Showcased at the Auto Expo in January 2012, the new Thunderbird floats a couple of first-time features on any Royal Enfield such as the projector headlamp, analogue-cum-digital instrument console, larger 20-litre fuel tank, oval section swingarm, rear disc brake and LED tail-lamp. Although the company has always treated the Thunderbird as an experimental playground for new features and later adapting them on other models, it has also launched the new Thunderbird 350, which borrows fresh features from the bigger cruiser barring the carburettor-fed 346cc engine, at the same event.
Priced at Rs 165,708 and Rs 130,086 (both ex-showroom, Mumbai), the new 500 and 350 respectively will help the bikemaker fuel sales of its cruiser motorcycles which contribute 10 percent to yearly sales. The old Thunderbird 350s have been discontinued.
“All Classics (the 350s and the 500s) contribute 45-50 percent to total sales, Bullets and Electras (350s and 500s) contribute around 40 percent while the Thunderbirds add 10 percent,” said Saji Koshy, senior vice-president, sales and marketing.
Terming the Thunderbirds as the ‘catalyst of company’s revival’, Siddhartha Lal, MD and CEO, Eicher Motors, underlined that the company is betting big on the new T’birds. Making these motorcycles available for delivery with the immediate effect, the Chennai-based firm is working to address the locally piled-up demand, thanks to the 6-8 month-long waiting period on Enfield products. The Chennai plant currently rolls out 10,000 motorcycles every month. Operations at the second plant will commence in the first quarter of 2013, with Royal Enfield aiming to achieve annual production capacity of 150,000 units by 2013.
Growing sales
According to the latest SIAM figures, Royal Enfield sold 9,730 motorcycles in September, registering a YoY growth of 40 percent. It has sold 55,645 units in the last six months and 78,784 motorcycles in the calendar year so far. “When the entire motorcycle industry grew during the last decade, we didn’t grow but now it is our turn. We are confident of selling more than 100,000 motorcycles in this calendar year,” added Lal on a lighter note.
Other factors which will further boost sales next year are Royal Enfield’s plans to launch the Café Racer, also unveiled at the Auto Expo, by the first half of 2013. It will introduce the other Bullet models with updated features taken from the new Thunderbird models. Currently, the total production sees a diversion of 10 percent and 90 percent to the export and domestic markets respectively.
The company has also launched its own range of fully-sourced riding gear which includes riding jackets, riding trousers, helmets, eye wear, motorcycle boots and gloves. Also included in the range of the riding gear is the open and full face helmets sourced from AGV of Italy.
AMIT PANDAY