Siddhartha Lal speaks BUILT LIKE A GUN
Siddhartha Lal, 44, is the dynamic CEO of Royal Enfield’s owner Eicher Motors, and as such the man responsible for turning what was formerly a sleepy ex-colonial offshoot of a defunct British motorcycle marque into the fastest-expanding manufacturer in the world today, that’s set to produce 900,000 motorcycles in 2018. However, when Lal took over as CEO in 2000, Royal Enfield was making just 25,000 motorcycles each year, since when the share price of Eicher Group stock has increased in value 70 times over under his leadership, after he assumed control of the entire company in 2004. Here, he explains why the new Interceptor and Continental GT twins are set to play a key part in the ongoing development of Royal Enfield’s market penetration.
CBG: Why did you limit the new Twins to 650cc? Why not make them 750cc?
SIDDHARTHA LAL: We wanted to make a motorcycle that was accessible to our Indian market audience, which they’ll feel is a big step up by their standards from what they’ve currently got, whether it’s a Royal Enfield or another motorcycle. Yet it needs to be accessible, too. Sometimes too much power in a country like India is too much to handle, and then you also compromise on fuel efficiency, on maintenance costs, on the price of the motorcycle, all of that. So on one hand we wanted to make it accessible, but on the other hand we wanted to make sure that it is super appealing in markets like the UK, USA, Australia and so on. It will hold its own easily, I think.
Also, we don’t like being in competition – we prefer to build a space where there are very few other companies, very few other products, or where there’s a very different market. So what I see right now in Europe and America is that the 800cc market is very crowded, but there’s not that much one step below that. And honestly, when you eventually get to ride our motorcycle you’ll see it’s not compromised at all on
