Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Jul 01, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Jul 01, 2004 |
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Marketing
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New Products & Services Royal Enfield launches Bullet Sixty-5 in US Our Bureau
Chennai , June 30 ROYAL Enfield has launched the Bullet Sixty-5 in the US. This model, which was introduced in UK last year, has retro classic styling that will bring back memories of the 1960s. The bike comes with a 500-cc engine and a five-speed gearbox, according to a company press release. A retro classic styling is one that offers a throwback in terms of period, which is denoted by the "Sixty" in the motorcycle's name, while the "5" refers to the five-speed gearbox. Following the launch of this model, Royal Enfield has stopped exporting the 500-cc motorcycle with a four-speed gearbox to the US, according to company sources. The release quoted Mr Siddhartha Lal, CEO, Royal Enfield, as saying that the launch of the Bullet Sixty-5 in the US was in line the company's strategy to increase its presence in the international market. "The Bullet Sixty-5 is a big success in the UK where we had launched it in January 2003 and we are confident that it will achieve success in the US as well." The Sixty-5 will be available in four metallic colours - Purplish Blue, Silver Ash, Rivera Red and Magic Black. The motorcycle will have a four-stroke, single cylinder push rod engine. Royal Enfield also sells the US Classic (350-cc and 500-cc) and Military (500 cc) motorcycles in the US. According to company officials, the retro classic styling is an emerging market in the West. Its launch in the UK has met with good response from customers. Royal Enfield sells about 600 motorcycles in the UK a year, of which 75 per cent will be the Sixty-5. The entire UK motorcycle market is about 1,20,000 units a month - from 125-cc to 1,000-cc engine capacities. Royal Enfield has about 40 dealers in the UK and the Bullet Sixty-5 retails at about £3,100. In the US, Royal Enfield has 100 dealers and the company is confident that the new model will increase sales by about 50 per cent. At present, the company sells 400-500 motorcycles a year in the US. The Bullet Sixty-5 will retail at about $4,500 in the US. Royal Enfield is a division of the Eicher group.
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