Royal Enfield may bid adieu to 500cc bikes next year

THE COMPANY MAY INSTEAD UPGRADE

ITS 350CC RANGE OF MOTORCYCLES, WHICH CONTINUE TO GARNER ROBUST DEMAND

MUMBAI: India’s shift to more stringent fuel emission norms from next April may claim another casualty: Royal Enfield Motors Ltd’s iconic 500cc motorcycles.

In production for nearly three decades, these motorcycles are offered under the Classic, Thunderbird and Bullet brands.

Implementation of the new Bharat Stage (BS) VI norms will make production of these motorcycles unviable for the domestic market due to the high cost of upgrading their engines and low volumes, four people aware of the matter said. The company will instead upgrade its 350cc range of motorcycles, which continue to garner robust demand, the people said, requesting anonymity.

“The push rod architecture of the existing 350cc and 500cc engines do not meet the stringent emission norms. As a result, the existing model lineup will be phased out,” said one of the four people.

“Royal Enfield plans to restore the 350cc segment with an all-new powertrain as that accounts for the bulk of sales. Meanwhile, it would quit the 500cc displacement,” the person added.

The fate of the 500cc motorcycles will be similar to that of some cars such as Maruti Suzuki India Ltd’s Gypsy and Omni and Tata Motors Ltd’s Safari Storme and Sumo which are being discontinued as India moves to implement stricter safety and emission norms. Makers of these models have discovered that the cost of upgrading them would be uneconomical, given their weak demand.

Initially made for export markets, demand for 500cc motorcycle brands picked up pace in India only after they were re-launched in 2009 using a new lightweight unit construction engine platform.

Responding to queries from Mint, a Royal Enfield spokesperson said that the company is “well on track to migrate to the BS VI norms as mandated by the government ...We will transition this along with the rest of the portfolio by the mandated time frame. All our products are future-proof. While we do not comment on speculative news and product pipeline, we will make the announcements in a timely manner.”