It's been a strange time in the motorcycle industry, of late. That's probably a serious understatement, I know. From the drama at KTM, to the drama at Harley, to one of the nascent EV motorcycle industry's most intriguing hopes sadly ending up at auction after going bust, it has been A Time.
To be clear, pretty much no one wants it to be this way. At the end of the day, we're all here because we like bikes. Therefore, we want riders and motorcycle companies (OK, and powersports companies in general) to succeed and continue making cool stuff.
At the same time, we also collectively feel that constructive criticism is key, because it's how anyone gets better. I mean, you don't tell your kids to knock something off because you hate them; you tell them because you hope they'll learn from their mistakes and go on to do awesome things in the future. Right? Right.
But even in the midst of all the upheaval, it's important to see the bright spots. And right now, Royal Enfield (and its parent company, Eicher Motors) is absolutely one of them. On May 14, 2025, the company posted its fully audited FY 2024-2025 annual financial report. What was in it? Only the small matter of its best results in the recorded history of the company; that's all.
Following the company's record-breaking annual motorcycle sales of 1,002,893 motorcycles worldwide over the course of the year, Eicher saw its annual revenues increase 14.1% year-on-year, hitting ₹18,870 crore (about US $2,208,762 at the time of writing). Of these, sales figures broke down to 902,757 bikes sold in India, along with a rise of 29.7% in international motorcycle sales, to 100,136 total bikes exported outside the brand's home country.
Now, it's important to note here that Royal Enfield isn't Eicher Motors' only child company. While we aren't CommercialVehicleApart, Eicher also presides over Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, which manufactures and sells some serious commercial workhorse vehicles in India. In reporting its annual results, VECV numbers were also taken into account.
However, just by looking at its FY2024-25 investor presentation, it's strongly implied that Royal Enfield is the favored child at the moment. The presentation is 62 pages long; of these, Royal Enfield takes up the first 42 pages all on its own. That's probably small wonder, since former Royal Enfield managing director Siddhartha Lal also took the reins of parent company Eicher Motors in 2024; in large part, because of how successful Enfield's comeback has been.
Do I think it's because Lal is, among other things, a real rider and not just another guy in a suit, in charge of a company? I mean, it certainly can't hurt. That's not mere speculation, either; I've both spoken and ridden with the guy. And honestly, all you have to do to understand that motorcycles are in his blood is probably do either of those things.
Here's hoping their success continues, and also that it rubs off on some of the competition. Who doesn't want a strong powersports industry and lots of cool stuff for us all to enjoy? I think I can speak for everyone here when I say "not us."
