What can Royal Enfield learn from their competitor's product strategies?
Delhi : How the competition intends to combat RE and whether or not this strategy is appropriate.
Honda
It has only attempted to produce a more polished or refined rendition of the older Classic. Next-gen classic with the J-series platform, which is just as good if not better, was released by RE as an effective countermeasure. Highness has been on the market for around two years, but has yet to surpass the monthly threshold of 5000 units.
Honda didn't utilise its advantages, in my opinion. It might have introduced people to their 400- or 500-cc twins, the CBR 400F/R or CBR 500R/F.
Despite being polished, the highness' engine lacks that distinctive Honda character.
My opinion is that the CB350RS should have come with a 350cc liquid-cooled engine. It might have been a perfectly executed retro naked thing. If nothing else, Honda should have introduced the CB300R at a price that is Rs. 1 lakh lower than the present price and complemented it with the CBR 300R, which is a fully faired version.
Honda has done nothing more than copy RE and support its philosophy of traditional leisure motorcycling.
Jawa and Yezdi: Classical Legends
Jawa launched their campaign with a bang that strongly evoked memories of the good old days. When compared to the real Jawa Jawa, they also accurately captured its silhouette.
They made major errors in demand forecasting, supply chain management, and logistics. I'm still baffled as to why Jawa wasn't introduced with twin channel ABS right away. Although it would have cost an extra Rs. 10,000, it would have set a standard that other manufacturers may have followed.
Additionally, I believe that rather than adopting the mojo engine for Jawa, a new engine architecture ought to have been built. The mojo engine is unquestionably excellent, however I'm not sure if it can be scaled or modified for use in other applications.
Jawa/engine Yezdi's is not as well-built as mojo's. Classic legends' construction quality and the calibre of some of their parts are under question. This type of problem shouldn't exist when you are
When you charge more than Rs. 1.75 lakhs, this kind of problem shouldn't exist. Additionally, their local sales and marketing are only average.
The sales performance is performing better the less I speak about it. Even 3000 units a month are difficult to sell. They have close to 6 products in their lineup right now. It's pitiful. If Mahindra ever decided to stop producing timeless legends, it would be a pity.
Bajaj Auto
I liked the Pulsar CS400 and SS400 that Bajaj displayed at the 2014 Auto Expo. The CS400 was a sort of halo product from Bajaj that included all the best and most modern components.
But sadly, what we were given was Dominar, a slightly watered-down implementation of the CS400 idea. The SS400 idea was put on hold. Instead, we got RS200.
Dominar's potential buyers were horribly misinformed about the product. Instead of concentrating just on RE Classic, they need to have worked on carving out a niche for themselves. Dominar was a totally different animal. Why Dominar 400 is only available in two colours is still beyond me. Why are there no options for white or blue?
They only accomplished anything worthwhile with KTM, launching the Adv 390, 250, Duke, and RC in 200-390 guises.
But one piece of information shocked me. I'm not sure why Bajaj/KTM abandoned the parallel twin-engine 490/590 project. It would have been a fun substitute for RE's 650 twins.
Currently, we have been seeing numerous spy images of RE competitors developing in tandem with victory. I'm hoping it has something unique that will make it stand out from the competition. I also hope there are multiple biking stories. I'm hoping they'll have twins as well.
TVS
TVS attempted Ronin for the hunter, a product of its direct opponent. I'm still not sure if the same designers of the RR310 created the bike because the design is so jumbled and crowded.
Their flagship product is RR310. However, I believe it also needs a twin-cylinder sister. I've read that TVS and BMW are developing a twin-cylinder engine. I sincerely hope the project is going well.
We want TVS to provide top-tier goods that are true to their brand identity. That sadly was lacking in the Ronin. Even if you are distinct than RE, you can still expand your market share. It all depends on the quality of the product and how effectively it is sold or positioned.
I'll write Part II in a separate post. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the same guys. Take care and ride safely until then, gentlemen. I hope the upcoming year is safe and prosperous for you and your loved ones.
