Royal Enfield has just announced the inception of a wholly-owned subsidiary in Thailand. The brand commenced sales in that market a little over three years ago, and its motorcycles have seen significant success there. Thailand will also host Royal Enfield’s first assembly plant outside of India, which is expected to be operational by June 2019.
The brand entered the country with one store in Bangkok back in 2016 and now plans to expand its reach to 15 dealers and 25 authorised service centers by March 2020. The expansion will allow for better accessibility for customers in Greater Bangkok, Phuket, Pattaya and Chiang Mai.
Thailand also happened to be one of the first markets in South East Asia where the new Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 (otherwise known as the 650 Twins) were launched. The company reports that the bikes have already received over 700 bookings.
Announcing the company’s plans for Thailand, Siddhartha Lal, CEO, Royal Enfield, said, “Thailand has become Royal Enfield’s third home after its origins in UK and success in India. The initial success of the 650 Twins in Thailand has proven that Royal Enfield is well poised to fill the gap in the mid-size segment. With a massive segment of commuters ready to upgrade and a robust long-distance, leisure riding culture in the country, Thailand offers huge headroom for growth for Royal Enfield. We believe that localising our operations in Thailand will allow us to serve our customers at a closer and more intimate level.”