With the claim of being the oldest motorcycle brand in continuous production, the iconic Royal Enfield brand is more than 120 years old and is today best known for mid-sized bikes, including retro-styled cafe racers, cruisers, and tourers.

BY ABHINAV LAL   COURTESY SLASHGEAR

The brand has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts over the past 20 years, after troubled decades and almost shutting down shop in 2000. The Royal Enfield brand was originally owned by The Enfield Cycle Company in Redditch, Worcestershire, England. Its first motorcycle was made in 1901, and the brand was also used for bicycles, quadricycles, stationary engines, and even lawnmowers. With the company's history in manufacturing precision parts for arms, the products featured the tagline "Made Like a Gun" in those early years.

As with many British manufacturers in the era, The Enfield Cycle Company played a role in producing equipment for the country during the two World Wars. During the first, the manufacturer supplied its Royal Enfield 770cc 6 hp V-twin motorcycles to the Allies. During World War II, Enfield made motorcycles and other products for military use, including the "Flying Flea," which referred to its 125cc Airborne motorcycles. Those bikes earned the nickname because they could be dropped by parachute behind enemy lines. Later on, the Royal Enfield Bullet was first introduced in 1932 and was initially offered in three variants: 250cc, 350cc, and 500cc. Its design has remained largely unchanged over the last 90 years and is today available as the Classic 350 or Bullet 350 in various markets.

Where are Royal Enfield motorcycles made?

So, where are the popular Royal Enfield bikes manufactured? Considering the brand name, it may be surprising to learn that they are produced in India. The company that owns the brand has three manufacturing plants in Chennai, and four CKD (completely knocked down) assembly plants in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Thailand. Royal Enfield offers about a dozen motorcycle models in 60 countries including India, the U.S., the United Kingdom, Australia, and Brazil. Nearly 825,000 Royal Enfield bikes were sold in FY2022-23, all in the mid-sized bike (250-750cc) segment.

Royal Enfield has eight models available in the U.S., namely the Super Meteor 650, Hunter 350, Scram 411, Classic 350 (also known as the Bullet 350), Himalayan 411, Meteor 350, Int 650, and the Continental GT 650. The company offers other models, such as the Shotgun 650 and New Himalayan 450, in markets such as the U.K. For about four years in the 1950s, Royal Enfield motorcycles were sold under the Indian Motorcycles brand name in the U.S., before other companies acquired the Indian brand.

Who owns Royal Enfield now?

The Royal Enfield brand is owned by Eicher Motors Limited, an Indian company that before the acquisition was best known for its tractor business, and is today also known for its commercial vehicle joint venture with Volvo. Post World War II, and after India won its independence from British rule in 1947, the country was looking for motorcycles for its police forces and army. It placed an order of 500 units of the 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet from The Enfield Cycle Company, and they were imported by Madras Motors, a private enterprise that had already been importing Royal Enfield, Norton, and Matchless bikes into the country since 1949.

Then, following an order for 800 units of Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles in 1955, The Enfield Cycle Company partnered with Madras Motors to assemble Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles in India, forming the company Enfield India — with a majority stake owned by the Indian company. Enfield India later received tooling from the British company to produce the entire motorcycle. The company continued producing Enfield-branded motorcycles in India for nearly 40 years, and it was acquired by Eicher Motors in 1994. 

Meanwhile, The Enfield Cycle Company in England went defunct in 1971, with its Redditch factory closing in 1967, and finally, production ceased when the Upper Westwood factory closed in 1970. Soon after being acquired by Eicher Motors, Enfield India was renamed to Royal Enfield Motors. The company also began using Royal Enfield branding and started selling its motorcycles in the United Kingdom. Following a lawsuit in the U.K. in 1999, the U.K.'s Intellectual Property Office ruled it had no objection to the use of the Royal Enfield trademark by Eicher Motors.

SOURCE: SLASHGEAR

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