Royal Enfield continues to suffer in domestic market while exports fuel sales

03/07/2019 - 12:13 | ,  ,   | Suvil Susvirkar

Royal Enfield has reported negative sales in the Indian market for the eighth consecutive month as the Chennai-based two-wheeler brand announced a 22% fall in year-on-year numbers for July. It’s the fifth consecutive month that the company has reported a double-digit decline. Meanwhile, exports continue to flourish as Royal Enfield registered 72% growth in international sales.

Royal Enfield Classic 350 Signals Edition
Royal Enfield reports negative sales performance in the domestic market for the eighth consecutive month.

Also Read: Next-gen Royal Enfield Classic’s instrument console spied

The sales have continuously dropped since November last year. Incidentally, that’s the same month when Classic Legends, a subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra Group, re-introduced Jawa Motorcycles in the Indian market. You can check out Royal Enfield’s overall sales performance since November last year in the table below:

Month Latest Sales Last Year’s Sales Percentage Difference
June 2019 58,339 74,477 -22
May 2019 62,371 74,697 -17
April 2019 62,879 76,187 -17
March 2019 58,434 74,209 -21.3
February 2019 60,066 71,354 -15.8
January 2019 70,872 76,205 -7.0
December 2018 56,026 65,367 -14.3
November 2018 65,026 67,776 -4.1

Last month saw the biggest dip in the year-on-year sales performance since November 2018 as the company reported a 24% decline. Meanwhile, exports have been fuelling the sales for the Chennai-based two-wheeler brand since December last year, which incidentally is the month after the launch of the Royal Enfield 650 Twins. You can check out the export performance of Royal Enfield since November 2018 in the table below:

Month Latest Sales Last Year’s Sales Percentage Difference
June 2019 3,257 1,889 72
May 2019 2,160 2,187 -1
April 2019 3,742 1,560 139.87
March 2019 2,397 1,878 27.63
February 2019 2,564 1,723 48.81
January 2019 1,829 1,673 9.32
December 2018 2,252 1,601 40.66
November 2018 718 2,350 -69.44

The improved exports could be attributed to the launch of the Royal Enfield Interceptor INT 650 and the Continental GT 650 in various international markets. The 650 Twins are sold in India, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the UK. Royal Enfield developed the 650 Twins for the global markets and the new bikes seem to be meeting the company's sales expectations. The exports will witness further boost once the operations at the company’s first overseas plant commence in Thailand. Royal Enfield will export motorcycles to Thailand via the CKD route and assemble them at the new facility.

Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 Side Profile Thai Mo
Except for a marginal dip in May 2019, exports have been consistently positive since December last year.

Also Read: High Note Performance to import S&S exhaust for the RE 650 Twins in India

Meanwhile, the company is reportedly preparing to enter the lower displacement segment by introducing a 250 cc motorcycle at competitive prices to regain its lost market share and boost the sales. The development of the new, quarter-litre bike is currently in initial stages and we could hear more details next year. Apart from the 250 cc model, Royal Enfield even plans to launch a no-frills version of all its products that will arrive at a lower price tag than the existing variants and will be available with accessories.

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