India's Royal Enfield Plans LatAm and SE Asia Push

Royal Enfield, the motorcycle arm of India's Eicher Motors, has said it plans to tap new markets in Latin America and South East Asia over the next three years.

"Besides the developed markets, we are also looking to expand in the emerging markets in the next 1-3 years. We are looking to enter markets in Latin America and South East Asia," Eicher Motors Chief Executive Siddhartha Lal said on 12 August.

"We have large ambitions in Colombia, where we have already appointed a distributor. We will be opening showrooms there before the end of this year.

"The [Latin American] market is largely underserved. Our endeavour is to fill the gap for mid-sized motorcycles in these markets," Lal said after his firm reported strong first-quarter earnings.

Eicher Results

Eicher Motors' stock finished at a record high 9,280.85 rupees (£90), surging 7.94% in Mumbai on 12 August after the maker of trucks and buses reported a 70.5% jump in net profit for the April-June first-quarter.

Royal Enfield, an age-old British brand that enjoys cult status in India, sells various popular motorcycle models including the muscular Bullet and the Continental GT café racer in the UK, in Europe, the US, Japan and in Australia.

Royal Enfield manufactured 178,000 bikes in 2013.