Royal Enfield Motorcycles...A Brief History

The Royal Enfield Bullet in its current form was first introduced in Britain in 1949. It incorporated an innovative new design element - swing arm suspension, and this feature, combined with the Bullet's sturdy frame and rugged single cylinder engine, enabled it to excel in off-road competitions. In 1953, a 500cc model was introduced, winning hundreds of races, bringing the Royal Enfield marque international recognition.

In 1955, the Indian government placed an order for 800 military specification machines for ‘immediate service’ on the Pakistan border. The requirement placed a huge burden on the Redditch factory, but it was met. The Bullet performed well, and the government placed further orders of a similar magnitude, prompting the company to set up a satellite factory in Chennai (formerly Madras), India. At first, CKD (‘completely knocked down’) kits were shipped to Madras where they were assembled, and the following year the Indian factory was fully operational, manufacturing the ‘India Enfield’ Bullet in its entirety. 

By 1972, the Redditch factory had ceased production and closed its doors forever.  The Indian factory carried on, however, responding to increasing local demand for cheap, tough and reliable motorcycles. It is a tribute to the original Royal Enfield designers that this same factory has been able to turn out the same machine – essentially a 1955 Royal Enfield Bullet – for over forty years.

In 1994, Enfield India Ltd was acquired by the multinational Eicher Group which immediately began to replace the original 1950’s tooling with state of the art manufacturing equipment. In 1999, Eicher set up a new plant at Jaipur (Rajasthan) featuring the latest in equipment technology, cellular layout and flexible manufacturing systems. A dramatic improvement in quality followed, leading to a steady increase in production and export shipments. The Royal Enfield Bullet is exported to over 20 countries including the USA, Canada, Japan, UK, Denmark, Australia, New Zealand, Germany and Switzerland.