Royal Enfield needs no introduction today. This brand now has a huge fan following worldwide, and is doing well in India, in terms of sales. Royal Enfield, also known by the acronym RE, is also a brand that has a rich legacy. This Indo-British motorcycle brand has undergone a substantial evolution over the years. It went from being built in Britain to being made in India. A recent set of videos shared on the company’s official handles show how this change happened.
How Did Royal Enfield Bring The Original Bullets To India
Before we dive into the details shown in these videos, it is important to get some context. Royal Enfield has its roots in Great Britain. The first Royal Enfield motorcycle was produced in 1901, at the Redditch factory.
It was designed by Bob Walker Smith and Jules Gobiet, and had a 1 3/4 hp engine mounted in front of the steering head. It had a rear wheel drive setup. The brand’s entry into the Indian shores happened much later, in 1949. K. R. Sundaram Iyer set up Madras motors to import British motorcycles to the Indian shores, including Royal Enfields.
In 1952, the Indian Army ordered 500 and 350 Bullets to patrol the Kashmir and Rajasthan borders. These motorcycles were well-suited for harsh terrains. More large orders followed. In 1955, the UK-based company partnered with Madras Motors to form Royal Enfield India. It then began building its first factory in Tiruvottiyur in Tamil Nadu. The plan was to manufacture Bullets under license.
The factory opened in 1956 and began producing Royal Enfield motorcycles. Now, let’s circle back to the video. In the initial years, the company took the CKD (Completely Knocked Down Kits) route to build the bikes. The Indian factory could not build complete motorcycles then.
So, how did this model work? Every month, Royal Enfield bullets were dismantled into Completely Knocked Down kits, packed in crates and shipped to our shores. These were put together again at the Madras factory, and sold as ‘complete motorcycles’. Local assembly got the game started, but the ultimate goal was to make these motorcycles completely in India. This would happen over the next couple of years, after the team successfully solved a set of technical complexities. The videos shared online mention some of them.
Fabrication of components at the Madras factory was a big challenge back then. The problem was that some of the machinery needed for the same wasn’t available in India back then. For example, India lacked a hydraulic press that could effectively shape Steel into fuel tanks and mudguards of Royal Enfields. Engineer Harry Sandford finally found a solution for this. He built one from the undercarriage of a crashed World War II-era Douglas DC-3 aircraft.
In the time that followed, this machine transformed Indian steel into Royal Enfield parts. Shipping motorcycle parts in crates became unnecessary in the years that followed. The production completely shifted to the Madras factory by 1967. The Redditch factory closed down later and the site was sold to developers. These are all the details shown in the carousal shared by the company.
The Tables Turn: India Begins Shipping Royal Enfields To The UK
In the years that followed, we saw the tables turn. The production of Royal Enfield motorcycles completely shifted to India. The company ceased all manufacturing in the UK factory. By 1977, Royal Enfield India began exporting the 350cc Bullet to Europe, including the UK. Regardless of the shift in production site, Royal Enfield motorcycles continued to be popular among classic motorcycle enthusiasts and brand aficionados.
Royal Enfield India Made The World’s First Diesel Bike!
Another major milestone came in 1993, when Royal Enfield India produced the world’s first and only mass-manufactured diesel motorcycle- the Enfield Diesel. A heavy load carrying version designed for the agricultural sector was also introduced later, called the Taurus.
Eicher Acquires Royal Enfield India
The next big moment for Royal Enfield India came in 1994, when Eicher Group acquired Enfield India Limited. Back then, Eicher had a good reputation as a commercial vehicle and tractor manufacturer. Post-acquisition, the company was renamed as Royal Enfield Motors Limited. In the years that followed, we saw Eicher rebuilding the brand, launching new products, improving the existing ones, and eventually building world-class products. Fast forward to today, and we see RE to have a modern, technologically advanced portfolio on offer. The products are all world-class in terms of technology and quality.