[TusharK]

Royal Enfield will set up its first assembly plant outside of India in Thailand under its first wholly-owned subsidiary in the Asia-Pacific region. The new plant will be operational by June 2019.



The first Royal Enfield dealership of Thailand opened in Bangkok in 2016. The company now plans to expand its dealer network to 15 and set up 25 service centres in the country by March 2020. The new showrooms are expected to come up in the Greater Bangkok area, Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.

Thailand was among the first markets in Southeast Asia where the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 were launched. The company has said that it has already received over 700 bookings and has delivered 100 motorcycles in the country.

Link to Team-BHP News

[sandeepmohan]

I wonder why Royal Enfield went all the way to Thailand when the prospects, or, rather, ease of doing business is getting better in our home land.

[The_Mad_Hatter]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I wonder why Royal Enfield went all the way to Thailand when the prospects, or, rather, ease of doing business is getting better in our home land.

Perhaps it has something to do with the labour issues that have been plaguing its plants here.

[Zappo]

Thailand has a few advantages when it comes to the auto industry. The required vendor base for parts and assemblies is easier to put together in Thailand by virtue of its huge auto manufacturing base. Add to that Thailand has FTA with many neighboring countries in Asia and beyond (mainly Indo-Pacific). This makes it easy for any automotive company in Thailand to export its vehicles at competitive prices to many of these countries. I think RE made a good choice.

[neil.jericho]

Originally Posted by Zappo

Thailand has a few advantages when it comes to the auto industry. The required vendor base for parts and assemblies is easier to put together in Thailand by virtue of its huge auto manufacturing base. Add to that Thailand has FTA with many neighboring countries in Asia and beyond (mainly Indo-Pacific). This makes it easy for any automotive company in Thailand to export its vehicles at competitive prices to many of these countries. I think RE made a good choice.

I believe you are right on the money with the FTA perspective. The plant will open up a lot of doors in the regional market and that's just a great thing for a hungry and growing company like Royal Enfield. It also is a smart move given their recent labour woes in India.


As a bonus, now Royal Enfield's Asia Pacific business head will get his chance to simply (had to correct what I first typed ) rev the nuts off all new bikes at RE launches!