Royal Enfield: The British-Indian cult motorcycle brand is also going electric

Royal Enfield is similar to Land Rover – once quintessentially British, now in Indian hands. The motorcycle manufacturer has had its headquarters not in Redditch, south of Birmingham, since 1994, but in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The brand Royal Enfield is the oldest global motorcycle brand in continuous production – the company produced its first motorcycles back in 1901. Now, the Indian manufacturer wants to venture into the electric motorcycle market. In an interview with an Indian automotive website, company president Rudratej Singh confirmed as early as March 2018 that Royal Enfield is advancing a project involving an electric model.

"In the last 6-8 months, we have invested in the EV sector by creating a physical infrastructure for vehicle testing and related preparations," explained Royal Enfield CEO, B. Govindarajan. "We have also hired great talent for our technology centers in India and the UK. Overall, we have been very focused on the electric vehicle sector. As a pioneer in motorcycle manufacturing, it is easy for us to take the aggregates, assemble them, and bring them to market to stay ahead of others. But we want to fully understand the needs of buyers in this segment before launching new products. Because Royal Enfield is known for offering not just products, but also the experience of motorcycle riding. Our goal is to develop a differentiated product offering in the electric vehicle sector."

Siddhartha Lal, the CEO of Eicher, the parent company of Royal Enfield, believed a few months before the specific plans for the Electric01 became known that battery technology was not yet at the necessary stage for a Royal Enfield electric motorcycle. Now, he appears to have changed his mind about the electrification of two-wheelers.