Royal Enfield motorcycle is expanding its presence in Kerala in view of the demand for its two-wheelers in the State market.

According to Shaji Koshy, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Kerala is a well-performing market and the demand for the company’s products remains high.

In 2011, the sales grew by 48 per cent over 2010 in this region. This year the company has already registered a growth of 23 per cent over the average monthly sales volume of 2011, he said.

Koshy, who was here in connection with the launch of Royal Enfield Thunderbird 500, said the company is now selling 700 bikes a month in Kerala, compared with 300 a month in the State three years ago. On national sales, he said it had sold 75,000 bikes in 2011 and is targeting a sale of over one lakh units this year.

Referring to the new Thunderbird 500, Koshy said the target group is IT professionals in metros and various cities. The youth in the age group of 20-30 are the main customers. The company will concentrate on metros and cities such as Hyderabad, Bangalore, Thiruvanantahpuram and Kochi where there is a large IT crowd, he said.

Thunderbird 500 has a 500cc unit engine, 27.2 bhp power outputs being fed through an electronic fuel injection system and 41.3 Nm torque built in for very accessible power, he said.

While the Thunderbird 500 is available at Rs 1,72,539 (on road price in Kochi), the Thunderbird 350 is available at Rs 1,35,408 (on road price in Kochi).

Royal Enfield’s domestic line up includes the Bullet 350, Electra, Classic 350, Classic 500, Classic Chrome and Desert Storm.

sajeevkumar.v@thehindu.co.in

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