Royal Enfield plans to ride into Brazilian market

The niche bike-maker is also looking to gain foothold in Indonesia and Thailand

Niche bike-maker Royal Enfield is looking to gain entry into Brazil, the largest market in Latin America, and establish itself in major markets like Indonesia and Thailand as part of its plans to become a leading player in the 250-750 cc segment globally.

"Currently, we are looking at Latin America and South East Asia regions for our growth in international markets. We are already in Colombia and now figuring out a way to enter Brazil, the biggest market in Latin America. So that's on the horizon," Royal Enfield CEO Siddhartha Lal told reporters in a conference call on Friday.

He, however, did not share details on the time frame of entry into the Latin American country. Royal Enfield is currently present in Colombia, where it has established five stores.

The company is also looking to gain foothold in Indonesia and Thailand, which are quite large commuter motorcycle markets, he added.

"Indonesia is among the largest two-wheeler markets in the world. We have opened a store in Jakarta. Thailand is a very developed market for mid-segment and we aim to open our first dealership there soon," Lal said.

The company would first like to create awareness about the Royal Enfield brand in these markets before expanding further, Lal added.

The company, which is the two-wheeler arm of Eicher Motors, currently sells various popular models like Bullet, Classic, Thunderbird and Continental GT.

It recently unveiled Himalayan, an all-terrain 411 cc motorcycle, as part of its plans to expand its product range in the mid-sized bike segment.

Having established its business firmly in the domestic market, the company is now eyeing major markets across the world to sustain its growth momentum.

In the past few months, Royal Enfield has expanded its global footprint in key nodal cities like London, Madrid, Paris, Dubai, Bogota and Medellin.

The company plans to produce up to 9 lakh motorcycles by the end of 2018 from its two existing manufacturing facilities and a third upcoming facility, in Tamil Nadu.

Royal Enfield is also building two new technology centers -- one in India and another in the UK -- to enhance capability and execute its long-term product strategy.