UM Motorcycles to take on Royal Enfield

UM Motorcycles has announced that it will be taking on Royal Enfield with its upcoming products. The bike maker has set-up a plant in North India (Uttarakhand), which will have a production capacity of 50,000 annual units and this can be expanded easily.

At the moment, the company has two bikes on sale. Both of which are powered by a 350cc engine. The company has plants to get the Classic Commando, which will be a 300cc engine bike. This will be priced at about INR 2 lakhs (on-road). There shall be two more model with 200cc and 400cc engine options. The UM brand will be taking on Royal Enfield, which is one of the fastest growing two-wheeler brand in the country.

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The Florida-based company will soon be delivering 3000 bikes to its customers. The company commenced taking orders from the 2016 Auto Expo. Since then, the company has been taking orders for its two bike models.

The Delhi-based Lohia Automobiles Limited has a 50:50 JV with the company for its Indian operations. The US-based brand has invested about INR 100 crore in the plant apart from its existing technologies that will be utilised as well.

At the moment, the company has about 50 dealerships in India. At the moment, 30% of the parts are imported. However, the company is working towards 100% localisation. This will help them to reduce the costing.

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The company clearly seems to be targeting the RE range. Will this bike be able to take on RE? In terms of technology, maybe yes. But in terms of brand loyalty, UM Motorcycles has a steep hill to climb.