Former Triumph Motorcycle India MD, Vimal Sumbly, joins Royal Enfield

05/09/2018 - 10:29 Royal Enfield, Royal Enfield Suvil Susvirkar

After leaving his position as the Managing Director of Triumph Motorcycle India, Vimal Sumbly has joined Royal Enfield as Head of Asia Pacific business.

Vimal Sumbly, MD with the customised Triumph Bonneville at IBW 2015 — Before joining Royal Enfield as the as Head of Asia Pacific, Sumbly worked with Bajaj Auto and Triumph Motorcycle India.

Sumbly spearheaded Triumph Motorcycles India’s operations for five years before resigning from his post in August 2018. Prior to joining Triumph Motorcycle India, Sumbly had worked with Bajaj Auto for eight years. In his latest role, Sumbly will be responsible for the growth of the brand in the Asia Pacific region.

Before Vimal Sumbly, Royal Enfield had already signed Sudhanshu Singh from Star Sports as the Head of Global Brand, and Simon Warburton from Triumph UK as the Head of Product Development.

Sumbly has been hired at a crucial time, with the Interceptor INT 650 and the Continental GT 650 about to be launched in the Indian as well as the global markets. His experience with brands like Bajaj Auto and Triumph Motorcycle India will help Royal Enfield in expanding its reach in the Asian markets.

Triumph Motorcycle India gained a lot of market share in the premium two-wheeler segment under the leadership of Vimal Sumbly, attracting over 5,000 customers since its official arrival in the Indian market.

Meanwhile, Royal Enfield is preparing for the global launch of its new twin-cylinder 650s which arrive in the Indian market by early 2019. Speaking to IAB, Royal Enfield President, Rudratej Singh said that the India bookings for the motorcycle will commence after the launch.

Both the motorcycles will be built around a steel tubular double cradle chassis and will use the same telescopic front forks and twin gas-charged rear shock absorbers. The new 650 duo will use Royal Enfield’s all-new 648 cc, parallel-twin, oil-cooled, SOHC, 8-valve engine that is tuned to develop 47 bhp of maximum power at 7,100 rpm and 52 Nm of peak torque at 5,200 rpm. The engine will come mated to a 6-speed gearbox and feature slipper clutch as standard.

Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 At EICMA 2017 — Sumbly has been hired at a crucial time as Royal Enfield plans to enter the middle-weight segment with the Interceptor INT 650 and the Continental GT 650.

Also Read: Custom Royal Enfield Interceptor 650 by Old Empire Motorcycles [Video]

Both motorcycles will use a 320 mm disc brake up front and a 240 mm disc at the rear. Bosch sourced 9.1M dual-channel ABS will come standard on both the motorcycles. The motorcycles are expected to arrive with a competitive price tag of around INR 3 lakh (ex-showroom).