Matthew DeBord/BI
Royal Enfield has been expanding its presence at the New York motorcycle show.
- Royal Enfield has been steadily expanding in the US since 2015.
- It now has 90 dealerships.
- The India-based company is selling simple, throwback bikes that are smaller and cheaper than Harley-Davidson's American classics.
Rod Copes cut his teeth as an executive at Harley-Davidson, the motorcycle company synonymous with two-wheel, freedom-seeking American-ness.
But now he's leading North American operations for Royal Enfield, a manufacturer that was born in 1901 and sells immensely popular bikes in India. Almost no one in the USA who wasn't a motorcycle had heard of the brand, which entered the US market in 2015 and has now grown to 90 dealerships, with a headquarters in Milwaukee, Harley's home turf.
"It's hard for a brand to come to the US with no legacy," he conceded in an interview with Business Insider. "It's really tough."
But Royal Enfield has a strategy, and it isn't follow-the-leader. Copes spent 20 years at Harley, so he knows what makes it such a dominant brand - but he also knows that motorcycle sales in the US have been in decline and that Harley has been struggling to find new riders. Sure, selling expensive bikes to older, well-heeled customers means that the company can continue to make money. But the demographics suggest a long-term challenge.
"All motorcycle companies in the US have chased the big guys," Copes said.
But the US is the opposite of every other market in the world, he pointed out. Here, large-displacement, expensive bikes rule the road, and even Japanese manufacturers have bulked up their offerings of cruisers and powerful sport bikes.
Not chasing the big guys
Matthew DeBord/BI
A Royal Enfield Classic 500.
But elsewhere on the globe, motorcycles are a form of cheaper, urban
Royal Enfield is selling middleweight motorcycles in the US and grown its model range to four bikes. The Interceptor GT and Continental GT come in at under $6,000, and the smaller Classic is about $5,000. That's thousands less than the cheapest Harleys, and Royal Enfield's bikes come with throwback styling that would be considered vintage or heritage - except the designs have been consistent for decades.
The company's significant economies of scale in India give it a major advantage as far as pricing goes (total production is bumping up against 1 million). And for the US market, Royal Enfield has style to burn, along with simple engineering and a spirit of fun that's less leather biker-vest wearer than intrepid explorer of local roadways. These are the sort of bikes that are made for riders who don't want to roar into town or dress up like a shiny superhero while scrunched up on a sport bike.
"There's a need," Copes said. "People are interested if you give them the right product at the right price."