For best outcomes, Royal Enfield is developing its EV lineup as a separate vertical, managed by a dedicated team of engineers
While Royal Enfield is a popular global brand, the transition to electric presents significant challenges. This is especially true for the electric motorcycle segment that hasn’t shown any strong market response. Royal Enfield is investing significant time and efforts to ensure that its electric motorcycles are a class apart and not merely an ICE to EV project.
Royal Enfield electric motorcycle launch plans
An exact launch timeline has not been provided. However, Royal Enfield has stated that its first electric motorcycle will not be launched in the current financial year. Eicher Motors’ managing director Siddhartha Lal said that currently there’s not much demand for electric motorcycles.
Lal also talked about design and development challenges, especially related to battery packs. Essentially, viability of electric motorcycles will increase when battery packs become cheaper, smaller and lighter. He further mentioned that they have something interesting coming up that can be potentially helpful in their development process. But specific details have not been provided.
Royal Enfield has created a strong electric vehicle development team to fastrack its EV plans. The team comprises a few hundred engineers. Research on newer, advanced battery packs could be one of the key focus areas for Royal Enfield. With a technology developed inhouse, it becomes easier to manage costs and introduce changes whenever required.
While a launch timeline is not available, it is apparent that design and development work is going on in full swing. Royal Enfield has made significant progress in their EV journey. They have a complete blueprint of the product plan and its future roadmap. Challenges linked to the battery pack will probably be sorted in the near future. It will allow development of more practical machines that can appeal to the mass market. Something similar to electric scooters that are registering bumper sales month after month.
Ex Ola, Ducati personnel onboarded
In its efforts to create a world-class product, Royal Enfield has hired some top executives. The electric vehicle development team is led by Umesh Krishnappa, who had earlier served as the CTO at Ola Electric. Ola electric scooters are currently the top selling electric two-wheelers in the country. Another key hire is Mario Alvisi, who had earlier worked with Ducati as the Chief Growth Officer for the company’s electric vehicle business.
Royal Enfield EV product details
At last year’s EICMA, Royal Enfield had unveiled their Himalayan EV prototype. This prototype is being used to test various electric powertrains and other parts and components. Royal Enfield is also working on L1A and L1K EV products. The former could be one of the lightest electric vehicle platforms. It derives inspiration from the Flying Flea petrol powered motorcycle that was used in World War II by the British Army.
In its EV journey, Royal Enfield has also partnered with Stark Future. The Spanish company focuses on manufacturing high-performance electric motorcycles. Royal Enfield has acquired a ~10% stake in Stark Future and has plans to co-develop electric motorcycles. Royal Enfield electric motorcycles will be initially manufactured at its existing plant. Later, production capacity will be increased via a new plant in Cheyyar, Tamil Nadu.
