Royal Enfield is slowly and steadily transitioning into a modern brand and products like the Super Meteor 650 are proof of this new philosophy. But it still remains one of the few established motorcycle companies yet to jump aboard the EV bandwagon. Luckily, that’s about to change, as the Indian bikemaker is setting up a new factory near Chennai, India, to serve as a base for mass EV production (reported by AutoCar Professional). More importantly, the company is working day in and day out to debut its first electric motorcycle as early as the next twelve months!
Royal Enfield Has Two Electric Motorcycle Platforms In The Works
Royal Enfield has two EV motifs. The first - codenamed L1A - is an entirely in-house platform, developed in RE’s Vallam Vadagal plant. It will birth three different products, with the aim to sell 120,000 to 180,000 units per annum in both Indian as well as global markets (America included). We also have reason to believe this motorcycle will be slightly different from the current crop of REs to focus on compactness, lightness, and performance.
The second (and so far unnamed) platform will be a joint effort between the Classic-maker and European EV specialist Stark Future. To jog your memory, RE’s parent group - Eicher Motors - invested 50 million Euros into the startup which earned it a 10.35 percent equity stake and a seat on the board. Both parties also joined hands to pool resources for future collaborations (read an electric motorcycle).
When Will The Electric Royal Enfields Arrive?
You can expect the first prototype to break cover by late 2023 - EICMA 2023 seems like a good bet - followed by a market launch in 2024. This will be the in-house product (under the L1A platform), while the joint product between RE and Stark Future is expected by 2025 or early 2026. It’ll be interesting to see what approach the two parties take, and just how many electric lessons the Indian bikemaker can absorb from the Spanish startup. Not to mention the type of products since we’ve seen no ‘futuristic’ efforts from the former so far.
Nevertheless, whenever the electric Royal Enfields are ready, the company plans to transition its upcoming factory into a full-EV facility to meet global demands. Considering factory construction is no microscale project, we expect the factory to be set up by no sooner than 2025. EVs aside, Royal Enfield is also prepping up a 650cc scrambler based on the Interceptor, and an all-new sub-500cc lineup with five products, spearheaded by the Himalayan 450.