As all the leading two-wheeler manufacturers are embracing Electric Vehicles (EV) as the future of urban mobility, Royal Enfield (RE) is not too far behind.
The iconic and longest-production British motorcycle brand owned by India’s Eicher Motors, is making rapid progress with its own electric vehicle portfolio.
In fact, Royal Enfield recently brought on board Umesh Krishnappa, the former CTO of Ola Electric, to steer its entry into the EV market.
As per a report in Autocar India, RE will be investing in excess of USD 100-150 million in its EV project. The work on a dedicated platform, internally codenamed ‘L’, has already begun and the company wants to have a range of products to cater to the different needs of global buyers.
The company has also recently invested in Spanish EV start-up, Stark Future VL. The tie-up will pave the way for a long-term collaboration on R&D in electric motorcycle, technology sharing, technical licensing, and manufacturing for Eicher Motors. The two companies could also share EV architecture in the future.
Moreover, if reports are to be believed, RE’s first EV will see the dawn in as early as 2024.
The company is exploring a business potential of 1.2 to 1.8 lakh units per annum from EVs, within a few years of its market entry in the second half of 2024. The platform has been designed keeping in mind the global audience, so apart from catering to the emerging EV space in the domestic market, the company has ambitions to take it to some key international markets too.
Royal Enfield has been studying customers' expectations on electric two-wheeler models having core attributes of the high-end motorcycle brand.