Royal Enfield, the Chennai based maker of the iconic 'Bullet', says that Gujarat is emerging as a major motorcycle market for the company. The company's sales in the state is growing at 100% over the past few years.
"We were selling 120 bikes per month here in 2010, which went up to 260 bikes per month in 2011, and this year we are selling close to 500 bikes per month in Gujarat", informed Shaji Koshy, senior vice president, sales and marketing of Royal Enfield. The company today launched the Thunderbird 500 in the Gujarat market.
He added that as demand for highway bikes and weekend driving bikes rises in the state, Gujarat is evolving as a major market for Royal Enfield. The company plans to expand its dealership network in the state from a current 13 to 20 within the next one year.
Royal Enfiled has sold 50,000 bikes in 2010, around 75,000 bikes during 2011 and plans to end this year with 100,000 bikes. The company follows a January to December financial year.
It is also working on reducing the wait period on its bikes, which at present ranges from four to ten months. It is coming up with a new facility at Oragadam near Chennai with an investment of Rs 150 crore that would commence operations during January-March quarter of 2013. The company is aiming to sell around 150,000 bikes during 2013.
