While many mass-market two-wheeler manufacturers now have electric two-wheelers in their portfolio, Siddhartha Lal, MD, Eicher Motors says that the first electric motorcycle from Royal Enfield is about four years away. He said that the company has some ideas and there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes, but the company won't take the easy route, therefore, there will be some time before Royal Enfield has an EV on the roads. He said that the company has the scope to do something fun and playful with the first EV from Royal Enfield and the company intends to see it through that way.
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"We're working on very basic research and a few basic platforms, but nothing concrete as yet. I feel for city riding EVs are fun to ride, they accelerate more and are agile as well. It also gives us a little more flexibility to try out different designs. It's not just about plonking an electric drivetrain into a current platform. The product will be a Royal Enfield and when we do launch it, it will be something good, so we need to take time to build that product which meets all expectations," said Sid Lal.
The Royal Enfield EV is likely to have a range of 120 km and is likely to be an all-new model, built on a brand-new powertrain. The company is trying out different things and at the same time, it is thinking about how to position the EV as well, but once it is ready, it will be well-thought, well-engineered and a good, sensible product when it does see the light of the day.
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"Right now, we have the classic to modern classic to what you see is a more modern interpretation with classic styling cues in the Hunter 350. But the Himalayan isn't something classic in that sense. But it's still simple and pure, and underscores that essence. So we want to be absolutely sure that the EV meets those and it's a good product. Our chassis guys take a lot of effort to build and design, so in the EV scheme of things it will be something which we believe will be good, and only then can we go to market. Timeline is 3-4 years, but more realistic is around 4 years," Sid Lal added.
Royal Enfield is also working on the packaging and working on the battery capacity, size and range. The new EV is likely to offer similar performance as its 350 cc motorcycles.
"Right now, the packaging needs to be right. We also have to take into consideration battery capacity, size and range. Sure, things are evolving and will only get better in the near future in the EV space. But right now, making an EV equivalent of, say, a 650 cc motorcycle will be an expensive proposition for the consumer, "added Lal.
