Re: Royal Enfield to set up 3rd plant in India Quote:
Originally Posted by tharian They are losing their identity going after numbers.
As it is spotting an Enfield on the road is like seeing a commuter bike.
I would rather want them to bring out more variety than selling huge numbers of of a few models.
There is no uniqueness in owning an Enfield anymore. |
Supplementing these thoughts in my words from an "ex Bulletier" (cast iron) perspective,
There were times when Royal Enfield's were not everyone's cup of tea. The Right side gear and the art of smooth kick start were the things to be mastered. Hence these were mostly desired bikes but not everyone would buy them. I have enjoyed those decades as being exclusive, the eyes of people with awe and someone who could tame the beast. For this species of bullets the sound, the mindset of a Forever-bike and the art of tackling the minutest issues yourself was the status quo.
From the Royal Enfield perspective:
The market was limited and it was a cult classic, albeit a dying breed. The AVL was largely flopped due to sound even though technically it was far superior than the Cast Iron. Come UCE and suddenly the bullet was available to all, thus a new breed of bulletier's was born.
This breed has a technologically superior product with a lot of add-on features at hand. The dreams of owning a bullet could be possible now, minus the tappet adjustments, the point adjustments, the oil supply etc. The evolution of Royal Enfield due to the brilliance of Siddharth Lal turned the fortunes. And obviously once the product is successful then max profit from max sales will be the only motto. Rise in demand resulting in Mass production resulting in Less Exclusivity but this also resulted in globalizing the brand name to epic proportions.
Here is where the debate of Cast iron vs UCE takes shape. Sadly after a few years of ownership we are seeing a huge lot of new or relatively new bikes being in the sellers market because the expectations were different. But if you buy the new UCE with a different mindset of a modern tourer then its a totally different beast. Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO I beg to differ. Mercedes' volumes have grown multiple fold. The sheen or identity of the brand isn't affected, right? Over the last decade, Harley Davidson has also grown.
As long as Royal Enfield sells the right product, they won't lose their identity. Seeing how Royal Enfield is pushing all the right buttons, I'm pretty sure they are going to improve their shoddy quality & old technology. They know it's vital to growth. |
Coming to the brand name - surely Royal Enfield is enjoying the huge success. Step by step they are progressing in the right direction, with organizing rides and merchandise and limited editions etc. But their biggest mistake is not concentrating on ASS and quality control departments. The sales department is enjoying the mass boom and hence the new plants and increase in capacities. But the number of service stations are scarce, the quality of basic parts is below average. The technology, although better than the previous generation Enfields, still requires a lot of betterment to be desired of. Hopefully the 410cc rumoured engine will be a good 3 or 4 levels higher in terms of quality and refinement. |