KTM vs Royal Enfield – With the upcoming 390 Adventure, are we seeing a new rivalry brewing in the entry-mid capacity adventure segment?
KTM participated at the recently concluded India Bike Week in Goa for the first time and it took this opportunity to unleash a range of motorcycles, some of which were very much awaited in India. The most prominent among them is the 390 Adventure which has been speculated since 2015-16.
We have discussed the 390 ADV, its specs and details (here) but there is another bit that needs to be highlighted. KTM took a direct dig at the current ADV options available in the market. Before we speak about KTM’s statement, let us look at your available options…
- Hero Xpulse 200 at the 1 Lakh level.
- Royal Enfield Himalayan at the Rs 2 Lakh level.
- BMW G310 GS at the Rs 3-4 Lakh level.
In one of its official press release, KTM said,
KTM sees a strong opportunity for Adventure 390 to create and grow the adventure motorcycles segment in India. The current offerings in the market are either underpowered or struggling with basic technology and reliability issues.
Clearly, it has used ‘underpowered’ for the Xpulse 200 and ‘reliability issues’ goes for the Royal Enfield’s infamous Himalayan. It further gets cleared when KTM says ‘struggling with basic technology’. In comparison, the G310 GS is a much more advanced motorcycle (than the Himalayan).
This comes at a time when Royal Enfield is trying to resurrect Himalayan’s image among bikers. Himalayan is the closest in terms of engine displacement as well but it is nowhere close to the specs the 373cc engine produces.
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Despite reliability issues, Himalayan has been climbing up the sales charts and with a 42 percent sales increase, the ADV has outsold the Dominar 400 in cumulative domestic sales till now (April to October 2019) – details. In fact, barring other RE’s, Himalayan is one of the largest selling Rs 2 lakh motorcycle in India.
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The 390 Adventure will be up for grabs starting next month (details) but it will be priced significantly higher than the Himalayan. Will Royal Enfield return the favour…?
