Eicher Motors Limited, the Indian automotive company and parent of Royal Enfield, uses a logo built around a stylised galloping horse in red. The emblem is widely described as a white horse head on a red background, a motif that has become closely associated with the brand’s trucks, buses and motorcycles.[1]
Design and History
Eicher Motors Limited was incorporated in 1982 as the flagship company of the Eicher Group in India.[2] The company’s visual identity features a pictorial of a galloping horse rendered in red, with the Eicher name set below in grey.[3] The horse motif is a recurring symbol in automotive emblems, where it is traditionally associated with attachment to man, freedom and speed.[1]
In 2008, Eicher Motors and Sweden’s Volvo Group formed VE Commercial Vehicles Limited (VECV), a joint venture covering Eicher-branded trucks and buses, Volvo trucks in India, and related businesses.[2] As part of a rebranding exercise, VECV launched a new corporate identity in June 2009. The new logo combined blue and red elements representing Volvo and Eicher respectively.[4]
Meaning and Symbolism
The red colour in the Eicher identity stands for energy, speed, aggression, strength and power, while the grey logotype adds a neutral, professional tone.[5] The galloping horse is understood to reference energy and speed, representing victory and success.[3]
For the VECV joint-venture mark, the blue was described as the colour of the Volvo logo, symbolising stability, trust, confidence and technology, while the red drew on the Eicher colour for energy, speed, aggression, strength and power. Black, used in the logotype, was described as adding sophistication and professionalism.[5]
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