Royal Enfield has been chomping at the bit to give us an electric machine for a while now; up until recently, we were told that the brand wanted to wait until battery technology was further along.
This news came alongside a 10.35% strategic investment in Stark Future SL with RE parent company Eicher Motors, where a cool €50,000,000 was dropped in the spirit of “explor[ing] further opportunities to collaborate in the space of electric mobility” (via RRW).
All this to say that Royal Enfield has been confusing more than a few pretty helmets lately – but that’s all about to change, based on news of RE’s “considerable progress.”
According to The Economic Times, Royal Enfield’s very first electric offering will be an e-bike drawing from the marque’s L-platform. Christened the L1C, this little machine will be expected to arrive in 2025, “with an initial volume plan of 5,000 units a year.”
This calls to mind another RE electric unit that broke out to the public prematurely. Remember when media was leaked showing something called the “Electrik01,” a working concept with a novel braced fork? There’s nothing stating that the Electrik01 is based on an L-platform, but we can’t help but wonder if we got news of RE’s new electric bikes out of order…
Bottom line, Royal Enfield is on the move with her own electric journey, so expect her machines to show off an update or two as the season progresses – especially since we hear that the Indian motorcycle marque will have Umesh Krishnappa – previously from Ola Electric – added to the team to expedite results.
“We are progressing on our EV journey and have several ideas that are already in advanced stages of testing,” celebrates RE’s Chief Executive, B Govindarajan.
“Our approach toward our electro-mobility journey is very different, and we have spent considerable time understanding the market and trends.”
All the best to Royal Enfield, and we’ll be staying tuned to see how RE’s continued success in sales will help to accelerate their zero-emission work in the lab.