It goes without saying that Royal Enfield is one of the fastest growing motorcycle manufacturers in the world. Unbeknownst to a lot of motorcyclists, Royal Enfield has a history spanning more than a century – contrary to what its relatively recent rise to prominence may suggest. That being said, the brand has no plans of slowing down, and has recently received a massive capital injection from its parent company.
Eicher Motors Limited, the company behind Royal Enfield, recently announced that it would be investing over Rs 1,000 crore – of the equivalent of about $121 million – in the 2024 financial year. This comes after Royal Enfield set a record sales figure of 834,895 two-wheelers – a 38.4-percent increase versus sales figures of the previous year. On top of that, the Indian manufacturer also broke its exports record, with more than 100,000 motorcycles exported overseas.
Indeed, spirits are high at Royal Enfield, with Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director of Eicher Motors, explaining that despite the ongoing success, the company is taking steps to remain a global innovator in the global motorcycle industry. "We are not chilling, there is a crazy amount of pace on EV development. Our process does take more time since our testing and validation process is better than the best in the world and that is where we take more time and effort," Lal stated in a report by AutoCar.
Speaking of electric vehicles, we previously talked about Royal Enfield's plans of developing a new electric prototype before the year draws to a close. While the future is indeed electric, gasoline-powered motorcycles seem to be gaining popularity nonetheless, and given the recent advancements in fuel technology, may be sticking around a bit longer than most people think. As such, Royal Enfield will continue to develop new innovations around its internal-combustion motorbike range, alongside its EV initiatives.