Chennai based two wheeler manufacturer Royal Enfield, owned by Eicher Motors, had recently launched the Himalayan for India. The company now has its eyes set on further expansion of models. Reports suggest that Royal Enfield is working on a 600 cc motorcycle that would be “highway worthy” and would be designed keeping in mind the requirements of the international market.
Aiming to become the top player in the middle weight (200 -750 cc) market, the company’s R&D centre is said to be working on the model which will be designed to serve rider in the U.S. and U.K. The plan seems to be on a roll with CEO Siddharth Lal moving to London himself to keep a constant vigil on the project.
Lal said that there are a lot of things that they need to do. The company has had some success in the markets but is not known for having highway-worthy motorcycles in such markets. He further went on to add that he knew why people would not like to ride a Classic 500 as a long-distance tourer in the USA. He would therefore, look to alter these motorcycles which are slower bikes when it comes to city motorcycles.
Also read: Royal Enfield Himalayan Delhi launch delayed due to emission norms
After receiving a growth of over 50% in the last five years largely due to the Classic, the company is now said to be concentrating on something that would be a new phase for them. Reports further suggest that the company is working on bigger and better versions of the Classic and the Thunderbird which are code-named as D41 and D61 respectively. These models, which are said to be under progress, would be built while keeping in mind the point that they would be offered in the global markets as well.
The Himalayan, which recently made its debut, was one such product from Royal Enfield that was built ground-up since the company was taken over from the British by Eicher Motors. Powering this adventure tourer is a newly developed 411cc engine that produces a power output of 24.5 hp and 32 Nm of torque.
Source: Economic Times