Royal Enfield has flirted with the idea of introducing an all-electric motorcycle for some time now. Back in November, 2019, then-CEO Vinod Dasari confirmed the existence of an electric prototype at the firm’s UK tech center. Since then, the Indian brand has maintained a slow and steady development pace, reiterating that stance in August, 2022.
Oh, how things can change in just a few months, as current Royal Enfield CEO B Govindarajan recently revealed that the OEM will accelerate its electrification efforts in the coming years. While Indian outlet BikeDekho originally reported that Enfield planned to release its first electric model by 2026, company leaders are now eying a 2025 launch date.
As of late, Govindarajan has shifted the firm’s priorities in order to meet that expedited timeline.
“Over the past 6-8 months, we have made investments in EV space in terms of creating physical infrastructure for testing of vehicles and associated preparedness,” revealed Govindarajan. “We have also been hiring good talent for our technology centers in India and UK. Overall, we have been intensely focusing on the EV space.”
Unsurprisingly, establishing that new infrastructure and onboarding top talent also require extra investment. Over the next five years, Royal Enfield hopes to infuse ₹2,000 Crore (~$250M USD) into its new EV vertical under India’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) program.
Unlike many of its European, Asian, and American competitors, Enfield isn’t known for high-end, heavyweight offerings. That may play into the company’s favor, as premium electric motorcycles struggle to match the performance and range of their internal combustion competitors. Still, Govindarajan doesn’t want the brand’s quickened pace to sacrifice the product’s quality.
“Being a pioneer in motorcycle manufacturing, it is easy for us to take the aggregates, assemble the same and launch it in the market in order to be ahead of others,” claimed Govindarajan. “But we would like to understand the buyer requirements in this segment completely before rolling out new products.
“Because, Royal Enfield is known for offering motorcycling experience, not just products alone. Our objective is to come out with differentiated product offerings in the EV space.”
