The affected Meteor bikes are those manufactured and sold between December 2020 and April 2021 while in the case of its two best selling models –Classic and Bullet, they were manufactured and sold between January and April 2021
In one of India’s biggest recall exercises ever, Royal Enfield, the maker of the famed Bullet mobikes is calling back 2,36,966 units of its Classic, Bullet and recently launched Meteor bikes to fix a defective ignition coil.
The defective part can cause misfiring, reduce the performance of the vehicle and in some rare cases even lead to a short circuit.
“The defect was discovered during routine internal testing and the issue has been clearly identified and isolated to specific batches of material sourced from our external supplier between December 2020 and April 2021,” the company said in a statement.
“While the issue is rare and does not impact all motorcycles manufactured during the above mentioned period, in keeping with safety regulations and as a precautionary measure, Royal Enfield has decided to undertake a proactive, company-initiated recall of select motorcycles models produced in the above mentioned time period.”
The affected Meteor bikes are those manufactured and sold between December 2020 and April 2021 while in the case of its two best selling models –Classic and Bullet, they were manufactured and sold between January and April 2021. The company believes only 10 percent of the bikes would need a replacement. The recall exercise would also cover bikes sold outside of India in markets where Enfield has in recent times gained traction.
“This proactive recall action will be applicable to Meteor, Classic and Bullet model motorcycles sold in India, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia & New Zealand and Malaysia between respective time periods mentioned above,” the company said. “Royal Enfield service teams, and/or local dealerships will reach out to consumers whose motorcycle Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) number falls within the manufacturing period mentioned above. Consumers can also proactively reach out to their local Royal Enfield Workshops, or call Royal Enfield on 1800 210 007 to verify.”
“We would like to reiterate that we have very stringent sourcing protocols and that all our motorcycles are rigorously tested to global validation standards of quality and durability. The safety of our riders is of prime importance to us at Royal Enfield and we are deeply committed to the duty of care to all our customers. We are committed to swiftly implement the recall action, and customers will be proactively contacted through respective local dealerships,” it added.
India put in place a formal mandatory recall policy from April this year which has provisions for levying a penalty of upto Rs 1 crore on companies for producing defective vehicles. The penalty is liable on recalls of more than 6 lakh two-wheelers, 1 lakh plus four-wheelers and over 3 lakh three-wheelers and quadricycles.
