Rivals Suzuki, Honda lose interest in Royal Enfield style of bikes

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Two Japanese two-wheeler giants -- Suzuki and Honda -- seem to have lost interest in entering the niche bike segment dominated by Royal Enfield, following a free fall in demand.

Both companies were keenly tracking the consumer pull that brand Eicher Motors-controlled Royal Enfield enjoyed over the years, but the decline in popularity too has not escaped the Japanese companies’ attention.

Brand fatigue or styling weariness are understood to be the major reasons why Royal Enfield saw a sharp deceleration in volumes over the last several months.

Speaking to Moneycontrol on the sidelines of EICMA - the annual motorbike show in Milan - Satoshi Uchida, Managing Officer Deputy Executive General Manager in charge of Marketing and India, Motorcycle Company, Suzuki Motor Corporation, said, “We are studying that segment. Royal Enfield sales have been going down gradually.”

During April-October, Royal Enfield's domestic sales declined 20 percent year-on-year to 394,760 units. In comparison, rest of the domestic two-wheeler industry contracted 14 percent to 1.75 million, as per data supplied by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

“Many customers in India are a bit tired of the design and styling now, earlier they (models) were very popular. Since the start of last year, their (Royal Enfield) sales have been declining. A similar problem exists with Harley-Davidson,” added Uchida, who was previously the Managing Director of Suzuki Motorcycle India.

As part of strategy to expand product its lineup, Royal Enfield branched out to tap into new sub-segments -- Adventure, Cruiser and Café Racer -- with the introduction of Himalayan, Thunderbird and Continental GT. However, the brand generates more than 60 percent of its domestic volumes from only one model Classic 350, which is the brand’s DNA.

“They have to change for the younger population, may be become sportier. We have to be careful and think if we need the Classic kind of bikes. Another trend that is catching up is that of adventure bikes. We have to do proper research. We will definitely do some products using a platform, which can be a cruiser, classic, adventure, or café racer,” Uchida stated.

Honda too was planning on a rival to Royal Enfield models and work on this began more than two years ago. The Japanese giant had even set up a team to find solutions, with a product launch expected in 2020.

There has been no update about Honda’s plans. But its 2020 product line-up for India does not feature a Royal Enfield-type model, though the company promises several 500cc and above launches, including facelifts of existing models.

Royal Enfield often compares itself to US cruiser-making giant Harley Davidson because of its similar brand legacy and product DNA. But popularity of Harley is on the decline too. For the six months ended June, worldwide sales of Harley Davidson declined six percent to nearly 121,000 despite introduction of new models.