Royal Enfield to open subsidiary in Thailand, says top official

Bike manufacturer Royal Enfield would soon set up its subsidiary in Thailand under its plan to strengthen overseas presence, a top official said Friday. The company which ships its products to over 51 countries from India would be setting up a subsidiary to manage operations in Thailand, Royal Enfield, Head-India Business, Shaji Koshy said.

In an interaction with PTI after launching two new models-Continental GT650 Twin and Interceptor INT650 Twin, Koshy said Royal Enfield has set up one store in Bangkok and another in Jakarta, Indonesia. "Currently, in Brazil we have got a subsidiary. In Thailand we are just going to open it. We have got our own office in the United Kingdom. The local team in these countries are managing...," he said.

He said the move to set up subsidiaries was aimed at becoming a mid-size player in the 250cc-750cc segment category. "What we did in India, we know we can replicate that across the world", he said.

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To a question on exports of the latest motorcycles, he said the company just shipped the first consignment (of Interceptor motorcycles) to Europe but declined to reveal the number of units.

"For India (Interceptor), it will be a premium player. For many European and North America this is entry level motorcycle. We will look at Latin American countries. You know we already export to 51 countries," he said.

On its plan to set up pre-owned showrooms under the brand Vintage in the country, he said already seven such showrooms have been set up across India. "We are having Vintage stores at seven locations across the country. We have plans to have 10 stores by March 2019. We will expand that (business)..." he said.

On the launch of Interceptor bikes in Tamil Nadu, he said, "Tamil Nadu is an important market for us and the launch of 650 Twin motorcycles is certain to excite Interceptor enthusiasts across the State". Interceptor INT650 is priced at Rs 2.50 lakh and Continental GT650 at Rs 2.65 lakh ex-showroom Tamil Nadu.

"We are confident these motorcycles will allow for expansion of the middle-weight segment in Tamil Nadu and in India," he said.