Royal Enfield has become one of the world’s fastest growing motorcycle brand coming from the subcontinent India. Famously called the “Bullet Maker”, it has made great strides ever since Eicher took over the self-attested “oldest motorcycle company in continuous production in the world” has been making bold moves to be heard the world over.

The most recent one of those is to shelve its first ever Café-Racer model, the Continental GT 535. It was their current flagship model that gave the post-British brand the needed visibility in the markets other than its home, and is soon going to be replaced with the Continental GT 650 twin-cylinder brother.

With 50% of Royal Enfield’s growth coming in the last five years, we see why it plans to outbid everyone in the industry for 250-750 cc leaderboards. The company has managed to sell around half a million motorcycles worldwide in 2015, and by the end of 2018, its ambition is to double this figure.

In a bid to create a niche market for themselves, the Bullet maker decided to step up their game both in the number of cylinders and capacity. Enter the 650cc twins, the cafe-racer Continental GT 650 and the classic-retro Interceptor which were launched at the 2017 EICMA. That was when Royal Enfield first voiced its decision to pull the curtains down for the Continental GT 535.

Then at the beginning of 2018, Royal Enfield halted the production of the 535 and had only been clearing its stocks across its showrooms in India. Now, the company will stop exporting the model globally and pave the way for the next generation of motorcycles, starting with the 650 twins, the continental GT 650 and the Interceptor.

The Continental GT 650 is Royal Enfield‘s way of making the most powerful and the lightest modern-day cafe racer which blends retro style with modern appeal perfectly. Powered by a 650cc, parallel-twin, air-oil-cooled engine which generates more power than any other Royal Enfield motorcycle to date. Since its launch in 2013, the Continental looks and feel very much in the 60s’ and 70’s and is unique.

Although the 535 became the face of the new Royal Enfield, its sales dwindled against the competition contrasting the phenomenal growth rate of the company. Royal Enfield decided to pull the curtains down for the 535 post poor sales number and also since it didn’t want the 535 share floor space with the new 650, which is a more advanced model having a greater quality, solidity, and performance than ever seen by the company.

Royal Enfield will launch the 650 Twins in its home ground within the next month and will soon follow suit in other markets by the end of this year.

The new development will be reflected in the domestic and export markets where RE has its footing. Adding to the stores in India, Royal Enfield boasts of having 20 brand stores also in cities like Sao Paulo, Melbourne, London, Milwaukee, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Medellin, Dubai, Bogota, Bangkok, and Jakarta. Royal Enfield’s first direct distribution subsidiary outside India was – Royal Enfield North America (RENA) that was set up in 2015.