Royal Enfield opens CKD plant in Thailand

Royal Enfield has commenced operations at its exclusive Local Assembly Unit and CKD facility in Thailand, one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturing hubs. Set up in partnership with GPX, this move is a significant boost to the company’s business in Southeast Asia.

• Thailand plant to act as a distribution hub for Southeast Asian countries

• RE is amongst the top five players in Australia, New Zealand, Korea and Thailand 

The local assembly unit in Thailand will act as a distribution hub for all other countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Vietnam, thereby offering significant advantage and growth opportunities for Royal Enfield. To begin with, the facility will start local assembly of the Himalayan, Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650 models, starting this month. 

“Royal Enfield has been working extensively to grow and expand the middleweight motorcycling segment globally," B Govindarajan, executive director, Royal Enfield, said. With a strategic view to grow the business and cater to increasing demand, we have been pursuing our plans to set up local assembly units in priority markets beginning with Argentina in 2020 and then Colombia earlier this year."

"Continuing this journey and marking a first for us in the Asia-Pacific region, we are very happy to announce the commencement of operations at the CKD assembly plant in Thailand. A testament to our commitment to the region and the market potential, and to our growing community of riding enthusiasts, this facility will enable us to efficiently cater to the growing demand in this region, and also become the hub for the rest of Southeast Asian markets.”

Thailand has been a critical market for the manufacturer since the brand’s foray in the market in 2015. Having made significant strides in the country and the APAC region, Royal Enfield is now amongst the top five players in the premium, midsize motorcycle segment in markets such as Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and Korea. With a burgeoning consumer base in Asia-Pacific, and a significant retail network in the region, the new local assembly unit will be a critical boost for business growth in Southeast Asia.