Royal Enfield launches special edition of Classic 500 Pegasus

Niche bikemaker Royal Enfield, which today launched the special edition of Classic 500 Pegasus motorcycle in the country, said its upcoming technology centre in Chennai is likely to be functional by the end of this year.

The bike will be priced at Rs 2.49 lakh.

The Eicher Motors-controlled firm had in 2015 announced plans to set up two technology centres - one each in Chennai and the UK - as part of its long-term growth strategy.

"Our new technical centre in Chennai will he opened by this year end," Shaji Koshy, head of India business at Royal Enfield said at the launch.

The company will put 250 units of Classic Pegasus on sale on July 10 exclusively on the Royal Enfield website, Shaji said.

The bikemaker is focusing on international markets as part of its strategy to expand the mid-sized motorcycle segment (250-750cc) across the globe.

It last month announced a capex of Rs 800 crore for the current financial year. The investment would go towards various activities, including setting up of second phase of its third plant at Vallam Vadagal near Chennai, completion of construction of the Chennai technical centre, as well as product development.

Besides, 829 dealerships, the company has 8,000 service bases across the country at present, and Shah said the aim is to take this number to 10,000 by this year, adding, "We are in trying to get the right dealer at the right place as part of the expansion plan.