[NPV]

Source:The New Indian Express
Link

Eicher has also announced plans to invest Rs 600 crore in two years to ramp up production capacity of its motorcycle division Royal Enfield.
Royal Enfield is looking to complete work at its Oragadam facility in the next two years thereby taking the total capacity across the two plants to over 5,00,000 units annually by 2016. The investment will go into capacity expansion, improving research and development (R&D) infrastructure and adding new products.

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[justin.das]

Aha that's a good news .Siddhartha Lal is leading the brand really well. Now we can expect new models from Royal Enfield . I was really wondering why they are not launching new models when the demand for the brand is so high.Higher Capacity RE's are most welcome . Thump On Royal Enfield

[theMAG]

They are feeling the heat from the new big boys in town. This is what excites me about competition- especially for companies that have operated to a large extent in the protectionist economy. Royal Enfield needs to survive well into the next century, and it is nice to see them responding to change.

[moralfibre]

I found it terrible when a colleague of mine booked a Classic 350 and was given a waiting period of 1 year or more! There was no certain delivery date. He was asked to choose any colour other than Black for a quicker delivery. Reminds me of a ton of stories from the license raj when a Premier dealer would give you a delivery date 6-8 years ahead from from the date of booking for a Padmini. I doubt such business practices would keep you ahead of the game for too long in the current market.

Competition is heating up, foreign players are slowly and steadily going to eat into your sales. Cult status doesn't translate into numbers so easily. Good move by Eicher to rake up manufacturing to meet market demand.

Is it true that Royal Enfield tank and side panels are painted in the Piaggio factory on the outskirts of Pune?

[Mafia]

It is tough times ahead for RE in my opnion. Just can't get myself to put in 200k' s for a bike with so many reliability issues. I am sure I would use that as a down payment for a HD or Triumph.
I hope they get their act together and produce good high cubic capacity bikes. They have an huge following and it would be easy to gain a larger share of the market

[TheDevil]

They seriously need to consider these things:

1) Improving the quality of their bikes. Still common parts such as gaskets and fuses are common talk for engine owners and being stranded with a fused system in the rain is a very common occurrence.

2) LARGER/More trained service network. The authorized service stations are still C-Grade and look ancient when compared to even irritating service centres like Suzuki.

2) They need to start building better designs and produce modern machines too! The wheel doesn't stop with Thunderbirds nor are the classics the only kind of cruisers people want! Twin-Engine development should be the need of the hour for enfield.

4) Start providing ABS please! It is a commonly accepted fact that bikes with ABS are much, much safer and it doesn't cost too much to include in the amount of bikes that are currently built/sold.

[amit_purohit20]

RE's are good at:
1) Cult status.
2) Good Advertisements (however less they are).
3) Aesthetic design, able to incorporate new technology in their bikes without loosing the old school charm.
4) A longstroke engine having good amount of torque.

What they lack are:
1) Lack of capability to design anything reliable. As they started late one can understand that they are not so good at engines, but not able to design a reliable chassis,brakes, electricals is simply not acceptable.
2) Weight management. They are simply too heavy for the power produced.
3) NVH management.
4) Longevity of the parts for ex- Rust protection, coatings etc.
5) Quality of parts are poor wrt to the price of the motorbike.
6) Suspension needs to be further improved.

If they dont sort out the basics now, its hard for them to beat competitors which have proven machines and better technical knowhow. Just styling and oldschool charm has worked till now but in long term they might loose on the other points.

Rumour- Bajaj is working on a cruiser. I bet it will be more reliable than RE and if they are able to pull out as a full fledged cruiser/tourer (not like avenger) then RE will have really tough competition.

[GetLife]

Increasing production capacity, may not really fix their quality issues. The reliability of their bikes combined with the A.S.S capability = Disaster.
I own a TBTS 500 for last 8 months now it's been @ A.S.S for almost 30 days during this period put together, still no satisfaction of issues being resolved, and nobody cares. Everyday I regret putting my money and heart into this.

[Sweet Chariot]

Originally Posted by GetLife

Increasing production capacity, may not really fix their quality issues. The reliability of their bikes combined with the A.S.S capability = Disaster.
I own a TBTS 500 for last 8 months now it's been @ A.S.S for almost 30 days during this period put together, still no satisfaction of issues being resolved, and nobody cares. Everyday I regret putting my money and heart into this.

i am afraid of the same quality issues and afraid of spending more time in A.S.S than on the bike, the issues reported here in this forum has scared me from talking delivery of the bike though the bike is ready for delivery.

now i thinking, should i cancel the booking and invest on HD 750 or a duke 390 right away.

[ArizonaJim]

Before you invest in a Duke 390 be sure to read every post that has been made concerning ownership of it on the Team-BHP forum.
They are not without problems of their own.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by GetLife

I own a TBTS 500 for last 8 months now it's been @ A.S.S for almost 30 days during this period put together, still no satisfaction of issues being resolved, and nobody cares.

Just out of curiosity mate, Where exactly have you left it for service? I own a TB from the past 8 months and have done 10000 Kms and with minimal fuss.
Also what exactly is the issue for it to spend 30 days in ASS?

[katchkamalesh]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

Is it true that Royal Enfield tank and side panels are painted in the Piaggio factory on the outskirts of Pune?

I might call it a hoax.

My job requires me to speak to SMEs in automotive sector and I did meet one of the RE's side panel suppliers in Chennai. IIRC he said that painting is done in house in RE's factory.

He also said that RE is pushing its suppliers to supply assemblies instead of individual part/s.

@amit_purohit20 I am of the opinion that RE's weaknesses that you mentioned helped RE gain the cult status. Many of the iconic brands did/do not fare well in reliability factor eg Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, even HD to a certain extent

Quality will improve over time.

[GetLife]

Mod note: Removing [Font] tags, please avoid Copy Paste from external font editors. Also do a Preview before Submitting posts. Thanks.

Originally Posted by ku69rd

Just out of curiosity mate, Where exactly have you left it for service? I own a TB from the past 8 months and have done 10000 Kms and with minimal fuss.
Also what exactly is the issue for it to spend 30 days in ASS?

Well, list is not long enough, but it did instill QA/QC apprehensions:
1) Instrument cluster – Changed thrice, still some features malfunction (Malfunctioned when bike is driven in rain or washed with water, some functions does not work otherwise as well)
2) Fuel tank – Changed once (Fuel tank had cracks in paint in patches all over, the paint at the lid also started to chip off)
3) Fuel tank float – I think they changed it numerous times (3-4 may be). After the first time fuel tank was replaced, the float used to make a noise even at normal speeds, and then the fuel indicator haphazard. This issue still persists – The vibrations and the faulty fuel indicator reading.
4) Rear Break – Any number of fixes, still the creaking noise persists and most of the time get a feeling Rear brakes does not exist as it is also not effective.
Most of the above was replaced within the 9 months period under warranty after lengthy (and frustrating) process of escalation to RE regional service manager, changed the service station as well.

I am still passionate about the bike, so not yet given up

[Endofdayz]

Every time i go through the RE thread and quality issues I can do nothing but smile at RE. My desert storm in 27 months of ownership had visited service station approx 90 to 100 days. Even then trusting these RE guys was total waste. Instead of solving the problem they always gave me new headaches of numerous scratches on the bike in additional to what i already had. regional manager act as if they doing big favor on customer in the name of Goodwill warranty. After tiring service station visits i ride the bike and ignore all the problems it has. More than cult status, it has given me only headaches. i have decided to use it till it last long and change whenever I am done with it. hence not really bothered.

Instead of investing on new plant and increase the production capacity i feel they should address quality issues. Everyone with childhood dreams plonk money on RE and their dreams are nothing more than nightmare. they Sell it and go for some other brand. End of Story.

[Aditya]

As a part of its domestic-cum-export expansion strategy, Royal Enfield Motors has decided to set up a second project in the Oragadam area. This will be the company's third plant in the country.

Link to Team-BHP News Article