The latest sales figures for the premium segment of motorcycles of India are in and the undisputed winners in this segment are the Royal Enfield Interceptor and Continental GT 650 twins. With a combines sales of 5,168 bikes between the two, it is hard to believe that these bikes were launched only in November last year. The competition that these bikes from the Indian retro bike maker face is also intense but these two models have managed to leave behind all the rivals such as KTM 390 twins, Honda CB 300R, Bajaj Dominar, BMW G 310R & G 310 GS, and the TVS Apache RR 310.
We have already told you that the waiting period for these two bikes has climbed to 4-6 months and that the company has recently decided to ramp up the production of the two bikes in order to meet the huge order it is sitting on. To let you know, the bikes that are manufactured here are also imported for sales outside India as the 650 twins are also sold in international markets. Not just these, Royal Enfield sells a lot of bikes in the global market.
Everyone anticipated that Royal Enfield would go aggressive with the pricing of Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650, however when the retro bike maker revealed the prices, everyone was left positively shocked. Prices for RE Interceptor 650 start at Rs. 2.34 lakh while the sportier café-racer themed Continental GT 650’s prices begin at Rs. 2.57 lakh.
Contrast this with other offerings such as Kawasaki Ninja 300 (Rs. 2.98 lakh) and Yamaha YZF-R3 is (Rs. 3.5 lakh). Not just the twin cylinder models, Royal Enfield Interceptor even undercuts single cylinder KTM 390 Duke (Rs. 2.45 lakh). If one takes into account the retro nature of the bikes, the competition gets even more one-sided as the twin-cylinder engine bikes with retro looks cost more than twice the price of Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 in the Indian market.
As far as the specs of the 650 twins are concerned, the company worked hard to develop a new 647cc, parallel twin engine for the Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650. Equipped with an engine that is mostly vibration free, and revs smoothly, the bikes come rated for producing 47 Bhp-52 Nm. Apart from the 6-speed gearbox and slipper clutch as standard, the bikes also come equipped with ABS on both wheels as standard.
The perennial gripe of the average RE customer and a RE naysayer was the lack of power in the bikes and the vibrations and reliability problem present in the bike. The brand has heard their customers and critics alike and has worked hard on the bikes. The refined nature of these bikes has won the twins many fans in the Indian market.
The only remaining factor now that these bikes will be tested upon will be the reliability, is these bikes hold up their end of the bargain for some time and the market finds these bikes trustworthy, there is a lot of scope for Royal Enfield to absolutely dominate the premium motorcycle market in India.