Bajaj launched the Dominar 400 in January and created big ripples in the market. The attractive price tag and the long feature list it offered captured a lot of attention. Before the launch of the Dominar, Rajiv Bajaj hinted that the Dominar would be put against the Royal Enfield motorcycles in the market. Now sales report show that the Dominar 400 is eating into the sales of the Royal Enfield. Eric Vas, President, Bajaj Auto, revealed that the two out of ten buyers of the Dominar 400 are former Royal Enfield bike owners. But why is the shift happening? Let’s find out.
So much more for so little money!
Bajaj has really loaded the Dominar with features. The bike’s the first one to offer a full LED headlamp in the affordable segments. It also comes with full-digital instrument console and a futuristic warning lamp array on the tank. The cheapest Royal Enfield is the outdated Bullet 350, and it is priced at Rs. 1.2 lakh, ex-showroom.
The Dominar 400 price starts from Rs. 1.36 lakh. For this much money, you also get better brakes, a more powerful engine and a lot of other extras that almost none of the Royal Enfields offer, even at much higher prices. In other words, the Dominar is killing it by being pure value-for-money.
Fast yet comfortable
The Royal Enfield motorcycles slowly inching forward to become modern yet, the extreme vibrations of the motorcycles are an issue with many people. All the Royal Enfield motorcycles still use pushrod type engine that causes jittery vibrations throughout the rev range of the engine. Only the LS410 engine of the Himalayan features Overhead Cams that reduce the vibrations drastically.
While riding over a long distance, Bajaj Dominar 400 proves to be much more comfortable. The single cylinder, liquid-cooled engine with Single Overhead Cam engine is very smooth. Much smoother than the Royal Enfield motorcycles. People who have experienced Royal Enfield in the past will find the Dominar supremely comfortable and hence, the shift of choice.
First affordable power cruiser of India
Most people choose Royal Enfield motorcycles for their long distance riding capability and are decently comfortable over a long distance. There was no cruiser in the price band till now. Bajaj offered the Dominar at an attractive price that shifted a lot of RE owners towards the new offering from Bajaj.
As Rajiv Bajaj said during the launch, “People who buy Royal Enfield and want to go faster, should buy a Dominar 400.” The Dominar 400 offers comfort, speed and reliability at a very competitive price.
Better accessibility
Bajaj has a better reach in the Indian states while Royal Enfield dealerships are still in limited numbers. While going on long trips, finding a Bajaj service center is much easier than finding that of Royal Enfield. The better penetration of Bajaj dealerships and service centres in the country gives more confidence to buyers. Many previous Royal Enfield owners who have experienced bad service and lack of service centres, now simply seem to be going for the Bajaj Dominar.
Safety matters
Most of the Royal Enfield riders go for long distance riding across India. As we know, none of the Royal Enfield motorcycles offers ABS. According to a recent interview with Eric Vas, President, Bajaj Auto revealed that the ABS variants are outselling the non-ABS models in India. Clearly, people do look for safety when buying a focused touring motorcycle, and Royal Enfield offers none. The Dominar 400 becomes clear choice of many Royal Enfield riders in this case.
Perception about reliability
Even though Royal Enfield motorcycles have become much more reliable than what they used to be in the past the perception is still there about their unreliability. The Royal Enfield owners who may experience such breakdowns shift to Dominar because of Bajaj’s good reputation at building reliable bikes.
Source:cartoq
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