Two-wheelers rev up for mid-size battles

Royal Enfield has made aggressive moves in the 250-350 ccsegmentthat it dominates, but the competition is accelerating

On August 7 this year, O iconic motorcycle maker Royal Enfield launched the Hunter 350 in the price range of 1.5 lakh to 1.7 lakh, depending on the variant. That makes it the cheapest bike in the Chennai-headquartered major’s J-platform, the base design for the new 350 cc engine that debuted in November 2020 with the Meteor 350 22.28 lakh).

Royal Enfield already dominates with a 93 per cent share in this mid-size motorcycle segment that the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers SIAM) defines as greater than 250 cc and up to or equal to 350 cc. It sells the Classic 350 2.21 lakh), Bullet 350 approximately 1.8 lakh) and Meteor 350. A fourth model will only give the firm more traction here. With its competitive pricing, the Hunter aims to attract first-time buyers.

Royal Enfield’s focus on this segment makes sense: SIAM data shows that sales here have been advancing at a fast clip month on month even as the broader market has slowed down. Between January and October of this year, the overall two-wheeler market has grown just 8 per cent, roughly the same in the comparable period last year, according to an analysis by Auto Punditz. But midsizers accounted for 250,777 units in the same period last year, the figure this year jumped to 410,206 units, a 63 per cent growth.