2022 has been a prolific year for Royal Enfield. The Indian marque started on the right foot, releasing its long-awaited Classic 350 refresh in February, 2022. Just one month later, the Scram 411 brought the Himalayan platform to the urban playground. By August, 2022, the new Hunter 350 made landfall, offering equal parts nostalgia and modernity in an easy-on-the-eyes package.
Even with 2022 drawing to a close, Enfield isn’t letting up any time soon. That's evident with the brand’s opening of a new CKD (completely knocked down) plant in Brazil. Located in the Amazonas capital city of Manaus, the facility will help Royal Enfield serve its growing Latin America customer base.
“Royal Enfield has been working extensively to grow the middleweight motorcycling segment globally,” reported Royal Enfield CEO B. Govindarajan. “With markets like the Americas region, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific growing significantly, it has been our strategic intent to be closer to these markets and grow the business.”
As a result, the OEM now boasts CKD plants in Thailand, Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil. All four locations act as assembly spaces, with Royal Enfield’s Tamil Nadu (India) factory shipping CKD kits to each facility. The new Brazilian complex has the capacity to produce more than 15,000 units per year.
“Brazil has been a very strong market for Royal Enfield, and is soon poised to be the single largest market for us outside of India,” added Govindarajan. “We have seen growth of more than 100 percent since 2019 here in Brazil.”
To meet that demand, the Manaus location will build the entire Royal Enfield lineup from the Meteor 350 to the Interceptor 650. And, that’s just the current range. With the Meteor 650 on the horizon and rumors surrounding a new 450 platform, all CKD production centers may have their hands full in 2023.
“We are very happy to launch our fourth CKD facility globally here in Brazil and this is a testament to our commitment to the region and the market potential, and to our growing community of riding enthusiasts in the market,” concluded Govindarajan. “We are confident that this facility will help us grow the mid-segment market here in Brazil while enabling us to efficiently cater to the growing demand."
