Royal Enfield Dodged US Tariffs With a Year’s Worth of Early Exports

All have been going great so far for Royal Enfield. Even in such a tough time where giant motorcycle brands, including Harley-Davidson and KTM, are facing major sales drops and production plant closures, Royal Enfield is making headway.

The impact of increased Trump tariffs is clearly visible and felt by almost the whole of the manufacturing industry in the U.S., especially the bike makers. Harley-Davidson is having the worst time with certain production facilities closures and a dramatic decrease in sales.

It will become super difficult for almost every other motobike manufacturer from around the world to sell bikes in the U.S. This is due to the increased tariff on export items. Considering this huge economic shift in the American motorcycle market, Royal Enfield adopted a totally different approach. Most field experts and analysts are calling this move a very smart one.

Royal Enfield maker, Eicher Motors, has already delivered a year’s worth of motorbikes/units to the US. The exports were made prior to the massive increase in tariffs by Trump.

According to the reports, Royal Enfield maker, Eicher Motors, has exported around 9,000 RE units to the US. This number is way bigger than the company’s annual unit sales in the U.S. region. This means that in the American market, riders can easily get a Royal Enfield bike at the same price without an unusual price increase. Not to forget, this is not the case with other motorcycle brands, especially Harley-Davidson and Indian Motorcycle.

In such a time, when every other motorcycle brand is worried and facing a challenge, Royal Enfield is still at peace. Those motorcycle makers that were on the boom and were progressing towards the global bike market will likely face a downturn. Small motorbike makers may likely not survive this trade war era.

On the contrary, we have Royal Enfield that has enough time to restrategize its business strategy. At least for now, Royal Enfield can keep selling its affordable, low-powered, beginner-friendly models, including the RE Himalayan 450, RE Classic 350, RE Hunter, and RE Meteor at the same price in the U.S. Also, the current economic situation in the country, especially the bike market, where motorcycle prices are likely going to be high, Royal Enfield has a great advantage.

The U.S. bike market and the dealership stores already have more than enough stock of Royal Enfield motorbikes.

In the case of major car manufacturers, most of them have halted their shipments or deliveries to the U.S. market. They will likely wait and watch for a few months or a year until things settle.

In all these situations, the only motorcycle maker that seems to have an advantage is Royal Enfield, thanks to the smart move. RE is already making waves with its growing sales in the global market. Those U.S. riders who are already fans of this brand and those who are looking to start their motorcycle riding career with Royal Enfield are likely to face no issues. They can continue riding one of the most affordable, classic-looking bikes.