Meteor 350 continues its global expansion – After Thailand, it has now been launched in Europe
Royal Enfield Meteor 350 has now made its way to European markets. It has been unveiled in Italy at a starting price of EUR 4,099, which is approximately Rs 3.65 lakh. UK price is £3,749, which is roughly Rs 3.67 lakhs. In Europe, it gets standard warranty of 3 years unlimited kms as well as 3 years RSA.
In the Indian market, the motorcycle is available at a starting price of Rs 1.75 lakh. Dealerships in Europe will start getting deliveries of Meteor 350 by March 2021. Meteor for Europe, will be exported from India. It will be made in India at the company plant at Chennai, and exported as CBU.
Same as India-spec model
Euro-spec Meteor 350 is the same as the Indian model, and is also A2 compliant. It will have all three variants – Fireball, Stellar and Supernova. Meteor has been designed to be a thoroughbred cruiser that would appeal to a global audience. Some of the key features that give the motorcycle its distinctive identity include round headlamp; tear drop design of fuel tank, turn indicators and rear tail light; chrome accents and broad rear fenders.
Meteor is built for both urban use as well as highway cruising. It has high set handle bars and forward set foot pegs, which ensure a comfortable, upright riding position.
Meteor 350 powertrain
Royal Enfield has installed a new J series 349 cc, air-oil cooled engine on Meteor, which is capable of generating 20.2 hp of max power and 27 Nm of peak torque. Gearbox is a 5-speed unit. The engine has SOHC setup, which has contributed significantly to reducing vibrations. The motorcycle’s new chassis has also helped reduce vibrations.
As may be recalled, the earlier generation of Royal Enfield motorcycles have considerable vibrations. Such issues create fatigue and discomfort, which can be problematic during long distance touring.
A first-in-segment feature on-board Meteor is the ‘Tripper Navigation’, which offers turn-by-turn navigation. There’s a dedicated screen next to the main instrument console, which displays the direction arrows for the destination. Tripper navigation does away with the need to mount smartphones on the motorcycle. Once connected to the user’s smartphone via Bluetooth and after entering the destination details, the Tripper navigation will continue to display the directions.
RE Global Plans
By aggressively targeting global markets, Royal Enfield is working on its long term strategy to reduce its dependence on a single geography. As of now, most of Royal Enfield’s sales are from India. Exports are just a fraction of its overall sales. The company currently dominates the 200cc – 500cc motorcycle segment in India with market share in excess of 75%.
Arun Gopal, Head of Business Markets EMEA, said: “One of Royal Enfield’s core objectives is to introduce as many people as possible into motorcycling,and we see our products as instrumental to that process. The introduction of the Meteor 350 further strengthens our reputation for building bikes that are appealing, accessible and approachable for a broad demographic.”
While being the market leader is laudable, it’s also true that things can change fast in the auto industry. In recent times, competition has increased for Royal Enfield from products such as Jawa, Honda CB350, and Benelli Imperiale 400. By expanding its global footprint, the company will be in a better position to hedge risks in the domestic market.
