As Royal Enfield North America’s special promotion with Dealer Direct comes to a close, the manufacturer will assess the success of the incentive and make adjustments as needed for the next promotion, said President Rod Copes.
The motorcycle manufacturer partnered with Dealer Direct in October, taking its consumer finance options nationwide.
The companies kicked off the partnership with a promotion offering consumers $99 monthly payments with no down payment required on current models. Dealer Direct is offering the program through Dec. 31 in 49 states excluding Alaska.
Milwaukee, Wis.-based Royal Enfield has long been searching for a retail partner to complement its existing partnership with ThunderRoad Financial, in an effort to serve the motorcycle manufacturer’s nationwide consumer base.
“We were obviously looking for someone that could provide some national retail finance options, and we were very keen on hitting on one of our key elements, which is going back to what motorcycling used to be when it was fun, simple, and affordable,” Copes told Powersports Financeat the Progressive International Motorcycle Show in New York in December 2017.
“The affordable piece we think it really hits home with our target demographic, the younger population, and it’s about a monthly payment,” he added. “We think under $100 a month is a very affordable option, so we came up with the $99 per month promotion for the last couple of months. We think that was a good way to get the name out there as well as that affordability piece. That’s kind of why we sought [Dealer Direct] out and they sought us out, and it seems to be a good partnership so far.”
The promotion expired at the end of December, and no new promotions have been announced. “We are so early into being in the U.S. market so we take every promotion we do — whether it’s a finance or marketing promotion — we execute it, and after the interaction, we assess it, learn from it, and adjust when we come out with our next promotion.”
Separately, the OEM has 70 North American dealers, and plans to continue adding two to three dealers to its network each month.
“Our dealer network is moving along as planned, and we expect over the next year and a half to get to 100-plus dealers, and then focus on growing our brand awareness and dealer experience,” Copes said.
