Most motorcycle manufacturers now have an electric motorcycle plan and even old-school motorcycle manufacturer Royal Enfield looks set to follow suit.
The plan all hinges on a short quote by company president Rudratej Singh:
Royal Enfield has several projects in the pipeline and the electric platform is one of them. We are in an investment phase in the project where we have a team that is working on different ideas and concepts with a long-term focus. We will disclose our plans at an appropriate time.
“Rudy” SinghHe doesn’t provide much detail, so speculation is now rife.
But surely they must be developing an electric bike even just to keep pace with the rest of the industry.
The four Japanese have electric scooters, motorcycles or concepts, BMW has an electric scooter and even Harley-Davidson plans to launch its electric Revelation on the market next year.
There will even be an electric race series alongside the MotoGP from next year at selected events.
Energica Ego race bike for electric MotoE World CupElectric platform
We suspect that Royal Enfield will work on its electric platform at their new English research and development centre in Leicestershire.
Like Harley’s Livewire Project, it could be something totally different from the traditional style of their current fleet. It most certainly won’t look like this dodgy independent job at the top of this page.
Since India has some strict air pollution policies in their major cities, it could be an urban scooter, rather than a longer-range motorcycle as range is limited on electric vehicles.
With increased emissions regulations being implemented in India in 2020, it is suspected the electric model will be released about the same time.
One certainty is that it will cost more than the budget prices asked for their current line-up which will also need updates to meet the new emissions regulations.
Furthermore, the Indian Government has proposed a deadline for complete electric mobility in the country by 2030.
Even second-hand dealerships
Meanwhile, Royal Enfield has launched its first “Vintage” store in Chennai to capture the second-hand market for their bikes.
The Vintage store will deal exclusively with pre-owned, refurbished and restored Royal Enfields.
They plan to expand the concept throughout India and possibly overseas as part of the company’s worldwide expansion.
This year the company opened its first store in the USA, cheekily in Milwaukee, headquarters of Harley-Davidson.