The Royal Enfield 650 Twins arrived in India on November 14, and they have created a stir in the middleweight segment with their aggressive price tags - INR 2.50 lakh* for Interceptor INT 650 and INR 2.65 lakh* for the Continental GT 650. At the same event, Siddhartha Lal, CEO, Royal Enfield was asked whether the company would introduce more motorcycles on the same platform to which he replied that the new emission norms had derailed the product plans.
Also read: 5 accessories & mods that Royal Enfield 650 buyers must consider
Siddhartha Lal said:
Not just yet. Our focus right now is exactly on these motorcycles. The new emission norms have derailed our product plans that we had a couple of years ago. For the next couple of years this (Interceptor INT 650 and Continental GT 650) is what you have and I think this is a lot. I think the Continental GT 650 and the Interceptor INT 650 are two amazing motorcycles and we have lots to get out of them. We are not going to have new models on this platform for a couple of years. Maybe after that, we will have something or the other but not just yet.
The new 650cc parallel twin engine from Royal Enfield is not BS-VI emission ready and the company would have to make changes next year to comply with the norms that are scheduled to come into effect from April 2020. Rumour has it that Royal Enfield is already testing the new Himalayan that will use the 650cc parallel twin engine. Apart from the adventure tourer, Royal Enfield may also reveal a 650cc Scrambler or Flat Tracker style motorcycle.
Also read: Royal Enfield KX Bobber gets single-sided swingarm & smartphone connectivity [Video]
A report in August briefly spoke about the product plans of Royal Enfield over the next 5 years. RE is reportedly working on 4 architectures - 'J' that would spawn BS6-ready versions of the Classic, Thunderbird, Bullet, and Himalayan, 'P' architecture that has birthed the Continental 650 cc and Interceptor 650, and bigger bikes to come from the 'Q' and 'K' platform post 2020-2021 with over 700 cc displacement.
*ex-showroom, New Delhi
