domain-b: Sales are once again booming at Royal Enfield, a 119-year-old Anglo-Indian motorcycle maker which has brought its distinctive bikes into the modern era with new and quieter engines, but is finding it hard to roll them out fast enough to cater to the demand. The company that had almost a laidback attitude sold 74,600 motorcycles in 2011, a 40-per cent increase, all made at its 57-year-old factory in Chennai, and is in the process of upgrading the manufacturing investing $30 million in a bid to double capacity. The waiting period now for customers is six to nine months. "Paradoxically, the more we make the more we appear to be falling behind. Only when the new plant kicks in fully next year will we be able to fully address the waiting periods," Venki Padmanabhan, chief executive officer of Royal Enfield Motors, told Reuters. The bike now sports a new engine in place of the antiquated cast iron engine, which has resulted in boosting acceleration, performance, mileage and reliability besides cutting emissions. The company is almost synonymous with the powerful Bullet model, but what is driving growth is the Classic series sold 10 million motorbikes were last year. According to George Koshy who owns four Royal Enfield bikes, including a Classic 500, the company had finally got the markings, the logo and the colour schemes perfect. Royal Enfield's motorcycles range from Rs108,000 to Rs175,000 in Mumbai as against Rs72,000 for a 220 cc Bajaj Avenger, a similarly powerful bike also marketed towards enthusiasts. Among companies looking to ramp up operations in India is Harley Davidson whose bikes start at Rs560,000. Britain's Triumph and Japan's Kawasaki are also in the process of ramping up activity in India to capture a growing premium motorbike market. Purists still approach the company for a bike with the old engine, but they have to go to the second-hand market as its production ceased in 2010. The company sold just 3,200 bikes overseas last year and is looking at export markets with its upgraded engines. The company recently signed up dealerships in Malaysia and the Philippines, and is working to rebuild its distribution network in Germany and France. The 49-year-old Padmanabhan started his career with General Motors in Michigan and moving over to Royal Enfield served as chief operating officer before taking the top job in January 2011. He said that for many motorcycle companies when they changed engines it was like life and death, if it did not go right they were finished. However, Royal Enfield had been successful with the UCE engine, which just happened a little over a year ago, and there was still a lot more to be done with the engine, he told Reuters. Source: domain-b.com
