FY 2019 sales report of Royal Enfield motorcycles above 400cc reveals that the Himalayan demand is on the rise, while that of the 500 cc range, which includes Classic, Bullet and Thunderbird, have declined heavily. The reason for decline in sales of RE 500 cc range is the launch of 650cc Twins.
Royal Enfield 650 Twins, launched in November 2018, are among the most affordable offerings in the midweight 650cc segment. The two bikes, Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 are affordably priced from Rs 2.5 lakhs. They appear to have taken over the segment in terms of sales.
Taking into account July 2019 sales, it was seen that the 650 Twins registered total sales of 2,225 units which was the combined sales of rivals such as KTM Duke 390, Bajaj Dominar 400 and TVS Apache RR310 which stood at just 1,946 units.
When assessing sales of RE 650, Himalayan, Classic 500, Thunderbird 500 and Bullet 500 during the period April to July 2019, it was again seen that sales of the 650 Twins which stood at a total of 8,417 units was just short of 241 units of total sales of Himalayan, Classic 500, Thunderbird 500 and Bullet 500 which amounted to 8,658 units.
The Royal Enfield 650 Twin sales in April 2019 stood at 2,014 units which increased to 2,427 units in May 2019. Sales dipped to 1,751 units in June to again regained ground in July 2019 to 2,225 units thus taking total sales in this 4 month period to 8,417 units. We cannot compare sales to that of the same period in the previous year as RE 650 twins were launched in November 2018.
Royal Enfield Himalayan also added considerable number to company sales, scaling higher in each month during the April to July 2019 period as compared to sales in the same months of the previous year. Sales stood at 1,113 units in April 2019 as compared to 1,029 units sold in April 2018.
Sales in May 2019 stood at 1,192 units as against sales of 1,067 units in May 2018 while sales in June and July 2019 stood at 1,223 units and 1,619 units respectively, significantly higher as compared to 942 units and 811 units sold in the same two months of the previous year. Total sales in the April to July 2019 quarter stood at 5,147 units up 33.72 percent as compared to 3,849 units sold in the same period of 2018.
Royal Enfield Classic 500, a part of Royal Enfield’s Retro Street series, has not been doing too well in terms of sales. Sales which had stood at 9,885 units in the April to July 2018 period dipped 74.03 percent to 2,567 units in the same period of 2019. Sales which had stood at 3,037 units in April 2018 dipped to 688 units in April 2019 while sales in May 2018 which stood at 2,368 units dipped to 612 units in May 2019.Correspondingly, sales which were at 2,328 units and 2,152 units in June and July 2018 dipped to 640 units and 625 units in June and July 2019 respectively.
This was a similar sales pitch seen in the case of the Thunderbird 500 which saw sales fall 72.76 percent in April to July 2019 to 444 units when compared to sales of the same period in 2018 when sales stood at 1,630 units. Sales through the current year have been on a steady decline. Sales in April and May 2019 which stood at 130 units and 133 units respectively dipped to 97 units and 84 units in June and July 2019.
Sales of the Bullet 500 which fell 66.51 percent in April to July 2019 to 500 units as compared to sales of April to July 2018 which stood at 1,493 units. April and May 2019 sales dipped to 128 units and 140 units respectively as against sales of 489 units and 397 units sold in the same two months of the previous year. Sales in June and July 2019 which stood at 138 units and 94 units respectively was also a significant decline as compared to sales of 284 units and 323 units sold in the same four month period of 2018.
