Royal Enfield’s new Himalayan 450 may double volumes, says UBS but Nomura disagrees

“The price is at a 35% premium to Royal Enfield 350cc bikes, 15% premium to Bajaj Auto’s Speed 400 and similar to the top variant of H-D X440. Also, the price will likely increase further in January 2024,” it said in a note on November 27.

Thus, Nomura believes the segment size will remain limited as was the case with the company’s 650cc twins — which had also received strong reviews when launched. The brokerage estimates sales of the Himalayan to improve from 3,000 units a month currently to 4,000 units/month in steady state.

Hence, the analyst maintained its neutral rating on the stock, as it believes that the less than 250cc motorcycle market has space for two to three players where Royal Enfield occupies 90% share. “We expect a further drop in market share as competition ramps up,” it said.

Reflecting on the Himalayan 450’s features, Nomura said it is a significant upgrade with an attractive design, improved performance and tech features.

The Himalayan is available in three variants: Base, Pass and Summit, and has five colour options. Launched at Royal Enfield’s motorcycling festival Motoverse 2023 in Goa, the bike comes with a new 452cc Liquid Cooled engine. It has a six-speed gearbox and slipper clutch. It is also equipped with a 4-Inch TFT instrument cluster with Google Maps.

Royal Enfield also unveiled the Shotgun 650, a custom-inspired neoretro motorcycle, on November 24. While the continuous production motorcycle will be launched early next year, the Shotgun 650 Motoverse Edition is a limited release, custom-designed colourway, only 25 of which were available for booking until midnight November 25.

Available exclusively for the Motoverse community, the colourway and graphic model will never be made again, making this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own this motorcycle. The Shotgun 650 Motoverse Edition is priced at ₹4,25,000 (ex-showroom). The delivery of these 25 motorcycles will begin in January 2024, and these 25 customers will be the first owners of the Shotgun 650 globally, according to the company.

The Shotgun 650 Motoverse Edition is a tribute to the culture of customisation as it pays homage to its precursor, the SG650 Concept, with its neo-destopian design.

Eicher Motors shares were trading nearly a percent lower at ₹3,816.10 on BSE at 11:15 am. The stock has given a return of more than 18% to its investors in 2023 (year-to-date) as against benchmark Sensex which rose almost 8% during the period.