Chennai-based bike manufacturer Royal Enfield is going more and more global in its character. This conscious strategy is basically driven by its desire to take the numero uno position in the mid-sized (250cc-650cc) motorcycle category over the next 5-10 years.
The company, whose second factory in Oragadam near Chennai went on stream in April with an investment of Rs 150 crore, is in the process of reinventing itself as a global player and is working on new and existing products in order to meet requirements worldwide.
“The new facility will help us reach the next level of growth. It’s a step towards meeting our global plans and we are working towards increasing our global presence. We will also be putting in higher investments in branding and distribution in new markets,” said Siddhartha Lal, managing director & CEO, Eicher Motors, which manufactures Royal Enfield bikes.
“We will have a strong export growth story in the next 5-10 years. Our aim is to be the market leader in the mid-sized segment of motorcycles,” he added. The company currently exports its products to markets like Europe, the US and the UK and is looking at tapping into the growing demand for bigger bikes in emerging markets.
“We expect our existing markets to continue to remain strong while we are looking at emerging markets where people would be ready to upgrade to bigger bikes,” explained Lal.
Royal Enfield, the two-wheeler division of Eicher Motors, sold 1,13,000 units last year. Making its intention clear, the company said it will raise the capacity of the new plant to 1,75,000 units a year in 2013 from its earlier plan of 1,50,000. This is further expected to go up to 2,50,000 in 2014 while the plant can be scaled up to a capacity of 5,00,000 units a year.
Other two-wheeler companies like Bajaj Auto is already a strong player in the export market while Hero MotoCorp is looking to widen its reach globally.
As for the capex plan, Lal said Eicher Motors will be pumping in Rs 1,200 crore in 2013 and 2014.
