Royal Enfield to open 50 new dealerships in 2016

In order to capture a larger pie of the motorcycle market, Royal Enfield, part of the Eicher group, plans to open 50 new dealerships across the country, mainly in smaller towns.

As Royal Enfield aimfor a 50 percent growth in 2015, it isfinding a market for the its motorcyclesin several othercities of the country.With the Royal Enfield brand experiencinga revival in its market share, the company plans to open more than 50 dealerships by end of the 2016, taking the total tally to 500.At present there are around 450 dealerships throughout the country. Themetros are already covered and the next phase will include Tier II and Tier III towns too.

"The revival began after Siddharth Lal took over as the COO, of Eicher Motors in 2004. The entire model was redesigned, doing away with the old cast iron engines, eyeing the young buyer. Conventional advertisement was not relied on. The plan is to give direct feel of the bike. Regular long-distance rides are organized by the company and dealers. This leads to a word to mouth publicity. Now the average age of a Royal Enfield rider is 25 years. Over a decade ago the brand had an image of being older generation's choice," said a company source to ET.

Sales of Royal Enfield have recently got a booston account of better technologies utilized. More reliable engines with lighter construction of the motorcycles and contemporary design have been key for the youth to be attracted to the Roayl Enfield brand. The company plans to launch its first adventure motorcycle - Himalayan by early 2016, to woo the adventure touring community amongst bikers.