Eicher Motors-owned two-wheeler company Royal Enfield is launching a new 350cc motorcycle in India on August 7, 2022. The latest Royal Enfield 350 cc launch is just one day before Honda launches a new two-wheeler in India.
Speculated to be the Royal Enfield Hunter 350cc, this might be the lightest motorcycle on offer by the OEM in the country. When launched, the motorcycle will primarily compete against the likes of Honda Highness and recently launched Yezdi and Jawa motorcycles in India.
Notably, Honda was able to retail 2,228 units of its 250 to 350 cc bikes in India in June 2022. These figures denote an approximate 17% YoY growth in its 250cc to 350cc category, as the OEM had retailed about 1,853 two-wheelers in this segment last June. Royal Enfield,on the other hand, dominates the 250cc to 800cc market with over 93% market share in India.
Royal Enfield might be targeting a new base of consumers with the upcoming Hunter Motorcycle launch in India. Leaked pictures of the motorcycle and its test versions being ridden on the roads showcase an easier-to-handle 350cc motorcycle in street conditions. The company had also recently launched a toned-down variant of Himalayan in India. The new Himalayan Scrambler 411 seems targeted towards the street bike enthusiasts.
It is rumoured that the Royal Enfield Hunter 350cc will be powered by the same engine that comes equipped in the Classic 350. This oil-cooled 349cc produces 20.1 hp maximum power at 6,100 rpm and 27Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm.
The upcoming Royal Enfield Hunter will also share the company's J-platform that's also there in the Classic and Meteor 350. However, the Hunter may be able to deliver better power and torque as the same seems lighter than the Classic and Meteor 350.
Honda Motorcycles' BigWing bike launching in India on August 8, 2022, is also speculated to be in the 250cc to 350cc category. This might indicate that the two OEMs are planning aggressive strategies to take on each other in this segment.
In June 2022, India saw sales of 53,853 units of bikes in the segments between 250cc and 800cc. Sales in this segment stood at 39,149 units in June 2021. Most of these sales came from the 250-350cc segment with 46,948 units in June 2022, followed by 5,105 units in the 350-500cc segment and 1,530 units in the 500-800cc segment.