Till 1993, Royal Enfield was a British brand
Royal Enfield is often considered the crown jewel of the Indian motorcycle industry. After all, among all the Indian motorcycle manufacturers, Royal Enfield is the oldest—the likes of Bajaj, Hero, TVS, and a few others started decades later.
However, you will be surprised to know that Royal Enfield became an Indian brand only in 1994, i.e., merely 31 years ago. So, how did Royal Enfield become an Indian motorcycle manufacturer?
In 1855, George Townsend and Co. started producing sewing machine needles with the ‘Royal Enfield’ engraved on them. By the end of the 19th century, the company had ventured into motorcycle manufacturing.
In the 1940s, after India’s independence, the Indian government ordered nearly 800 Royal Enfield motorcycles to be inducted into the armed forces.
Initially, the motorcycles arrived as completely built units, but the idea proved to be expensive. Therefore, Royal Enfield and Madras Motors entered into a contract as per which tools and tech were shared with Madras Motors. Based on this partnership, Madras Motors started manufacturing Enfield in India with 50 per cent ownership of Enfield’s Indian branch.
Over the years, a lot happened as other motorcycle companies started to grab a share of the automobile market. Even though Royal Enfield was competitive, its market share wasn’t. That’s when the Indian group Eicher Motors chose to buy the company.
Thirty-one years later, Royal Enfield is one of the largest motorcycle makers in the 350-400cc segment worldwide.
