Enfield launches 500-cc Thunderbird

Royal Enfield on Thursday launched 500-cc Thunderbird with 27.2 horsepower and 41.3 Nm torque in Mumbai at an on-road price of ₹1.82 lakh. This would be the company's most expensive model in India and the manufacturer claimed it offers 25 kilometre per litre mileage.

'We have been on a good run now,' said Sidhartha Lal, managing director and CEO of Eicher Motor Ltd, the parent company of the motorcycle maker Royal Enfield. 'We have grown 50% in 2011 to clock 75,000 units and we are poised to cross 100,000 units this year.'

The Thunderbird 350-cc version, which was originally launched in 2002, is priced at ₹1.43 lakh (on-road Mumbai).

With the company's second manufacturing plant in Chennai coming on stream in the first quarter of 2013, Royal Enfield will have 150,000 unit product capacity. This will help shorten the waiting period for its bikes, which is at present more than eight months.

To meet the demand, the company is also expanding its sales network by adding close to 100 units in two years. Royal Enfield at present has 237 dealerships across the country.

Lal said Café Racer, another 500-cc superbike, will be launched in 2013. He said there are no plans for diesel variants of Royal Enfield motocycles.

While the company plans to focus on domestic market to fully tap its potential for the next 3 years, Lal said they are also working on a long term export strategy. 'The 2015-20 period will be international growth phase for us,' he said.

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