Royal Enfield sets up local assembly unit in Thailand

CHENNAI: Mid-sized motorcycle maker Royal Enfield on Thursday said it has started local assembly unit and CKD (completely knocked down) facility in Thailand.

This is the company’s third local assembly unit after Argentina, and Colombia in Latin America.

The unit in Thailand, besides catering to the local market, will act as a distribution hub for all other countries in South-East Asia, including Indonesia and Vietnam, the company said in a statement.

“To begin with, the facility will start local assembly of the Himalayan, Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 models, starting this month,” the company said.

B Govindarajan, ED, Royal Enfield, said, “With a strategic view to grow the business and cater to increasing demand we have been pursuing our plans to set up local assembly units in priority markets beginning with Argentina in 2020 and then Colombia earlier this year.”

He further said, “Continuing this journey and marking a first for us in the Asia Pacific region, we are very happy to announce the commencement of operations at the CKD assembly plant in Thailand.” This facility will enable the company to efficiently cater to the growing demand in the Asia-Pacific region, and also become the hub for the rest of Southeast Asian markets, Govindarajan added.

Thailand has been a critical market for Royal Enfield since the brand’s market foray in 2015, the company said, adding it is now amongst the top five players in the premium, mid-size motorcycle segment in markets such as Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Korea.