Mumbai: Royal Enfield, maker of retro-modern motorcycles, is trying an encore of its India business strategy in some of the foreign markets to gain a sizeable share in the global motorcycle market in the next five years, a top company official said in an interview on Wednesday.

The motorcycle-making arm of Eicher Motors Ltd currently ship to 50 countries. It exported 8,102 units, up 28.81%, in the first 11 months of fiscal 2015-16, according to industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers.

“Two years ago, we committed to making international a strategic objective at Royal Enfield versus earlier when it was just opportunistic," said Siddhartha Lal, managing director and chief executive at Eicher Motors.

With a strong team and products, Royal Enfield is setting the base for its international business, the same way it built the India business between 2000 and 2010, he added.

In the first 11 months of fiscal 2015-16, the firm sold 448,732 units, up 54% from a year ago, according to Siam.

On Wednesday, Royal Enfield launched the Himalayan, built from the ground-up with an eye on the adventure-touring segment of the two-wheeler market.

Priced at ₹ 1.55 lakh (ex-showroom, Mumbai), it is powered by an all-new 411cc engine displacing 24.5 bhp of power.

The launch is part of the company strategy to be a significant global player in middle-weight segment (250-750cc) of motorbikes.

Royal Enfield is present in the developed countries, including the UK, the US and in Europe as a maker of modern classics for many years. However, its biggest growth levers will be a few markets in Latin America and South East Asia.

Lal said the firm doesn’t have a common formula for these markets and each will be different.In South East Asia, one of the most competitive two-wheeler markets ruled by Japanese manufacturers, Royal Enfield plans to create greater demand by promoting its brand. In Thailand, it has already set up a store each in Bangkok and Jakarta.

Depending on the response, it will also consider an assembly plant, said Lal. Most people often set up the plant first to get lower duties and also to bring down other costs, he added. “By then, you have put enormous amount of investment and the pressure to sell is very high."

Lal agrees that by selling imported bikes, the company will not make much money, but it would help manage risks better and help in the longer run.

In Colombia, where it recently completed a year of operation, Royal Enfield models are imported and distributed by AKT Motos. AKT will eventually assemble Royal Enfield models for the region and become a full service provider for the firm, Lal said. The company meanwhile is firming up its plan for Brazil, which, according to Lal, is a tricky market.

For the foreign markets, Royal Enfield’s technical centre in Leicestershire, UK, will play a key role in product development. Lal relocated to the UK in August last year to oversee the process at the centre and understand the needs of the European markets better.

In the last two years, Royal Enfield has hired several veterans of the global motorcycle market from companies, including Triumph Motorcycles Ltd, Ducati Motor Holding and Harley-Davidson Inc., at its overseas subsidiaries.

While going international in a big way is the right move, establishing an unknown brand, particularly in South East Asia, will be tough, said Nitesh Sharma, analyst at Phillip Capital India Pvt Ltd.

Bajaj Auto Ltd, India’s largest exporter of motorcycles, is piggy-backing on Kawasaki and KTM to tap the market. TVS Motor Co. Ltd entered the region about a decade back through a full-fledged manufacturing unit in Jakarta and continues to bleed.

Sharma said the fact that competition is thin in the niche segment of 250cc-750cc may work in favour of Royal Enfield in this market.

In the long run, the company will keep its sharp focus on fewer segments and models.

“Less of more is a big mantra in Royal Enfield," said Lal adding that the idea is to do more and more for every aspect of business—less number of models but more energy behind each one of them, less number of market but do them better. Do few things but do it really well," he added.

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