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Royal Enfield: Revival of a Cult Brand
BACKGROUND NOTE
The origins of Eicher Motors (Eicher) dated back to 1948 when Goodearth Company was set up to import tractors from other foreign markets and sell them in India. Between the years 1952 and 1957, Goodearth Company imported and sold 1,500 tractors in India. In the year 1958, it entered into a joint venture with Eicher Tractor Company of Germany to manufacture tractors in the Indian market. The joint venture was named Eicher Tractor Corporation of India Private Limited (ETCI). ETCI built its first factory at Faridabad and sold its first tractor in the Indian market in the year 1959. The name was changed to Eicher Tractors India Limited when it was converted into a public limited companywhen its Indian shareholders bought out the German stake in the company in the year 1965. By the year 1975, 100 percent indigenization had been achieved in the manufacturing of Eicher Tractors. |
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In the year 1980, Goodearth Company was renamed Eicher Goodearth Limited to leverage on the Eicher brand image in the country. In the year 1982, the company entered into an agreement with the Mitsubishi Group of Japan to manufacture Light Commercial Vehicles in India. A new company called Eicher Motors Limited was incorporated the same year for the manufacture of commercial vehicles other than tractors. In the year 1990, the Eicher Group entered the two wheeler business when it bought a 26 percent stake in Enfield India Limited. By the year 1993, the Eicher Group had acquired 60 percent of shareholding in Enfield India Limited and had become its controlling stakeholder...
