Royal Enfield in no HURRY to launch electric motorcycle in India, studying customer expectations

Royal Enfield India Business Head V Jayapradeep said that the Indian motorcycle maker is in no hurry to launch an electric bike and is studying customer's demands.

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Amid rumours of launching an electric motorcycle, Royal Enfield's top management stated that the Indian automaker is still studying customers' expectations on electric two-wheeler models having core attributes of the high-end motorcycle brand, a company official said. Eicher Motors, which makes Royal Enfield motorcycles, has witnessed input cost pressure stabilised to some extent and is expecting an uptrend in demand in the upcoming festive season, Royal Enfield India Business Head V Jayapradeep said. The company also sees strong growth in the semi-urban markets with a greater distribution network.

"We are studying expectations of consumers on electric models of the two-wheeler with attributes of the brand," Royal Enfield India Business Head V Jayapradeep said. He also said the company is not in a hurry on electric models. Jayapradeep was in the city on Monday to launch the motorcycle's new model 'Hunter 350'.

Despite a robust performance in the April-June quarter of the current fiscal, the company has not reached the pre-COVID volume level in line with the industry trend. Royal Enfield sold 1,86,032 motorcycles in the first quarter of the 2022-23 financial year, an increase of 52 per cent as against 1,22,170 units sold in the year-ago period.

The company said it has not decided on a price hike but is keeping a close watch on the market. Speaking on marketing, he said the growth in rural India and semi-urban markets was higher at 60 per cent.

"We have opened over 1,000 studio outlets in the semi-urban and rural markets in the last 24-30 months. This move has helped us improve access to these markets. We are yet to get the full benefit of these outlets in the wake of the pandemic. The volume in tier II and III cities is steadily growing backed by our network expansion,? Jayapradeep said.

The motorcycle maker is, however, not looking to add outlets during the current fiscal and will rather focus on consolidating its presence to grow sales, he said.