Royal Enfield Studying Buyer Expectations On Electric Motorcycle

Royal Enfield Electric Motorcycle Rendering
Rendering Source: EVW

Royal Enfield’s first electric model is still four years away and it could be based on a brand new architecture while keeping the core essence of the brand

The speculations surrounding Royal Enfield’s entry into the electric motorcycle space have existed for a long period of time. The retro bike maker has been on a roll lately as the launch of the Scram 411 earlier this year was followed by the lightest 350 cc motorcycle in its domestic portfolio, the Hunter 350, and it has been well received amongst customers.

It is indeed studying the expectations of buyers on electric two-wheelers currently aligning with its core attributes. In a recent interview, Royal Enfield’s India Business Head, V Jayapradeep, said: “We are studying expectations of consumers on electric models of the two-wheeler with attributes of the brand,” He further noted that RE is not in a hurry to bring e-motorcycles just yet.

The Chennai-based brand is expecting good demand for its ICE range in the forthcoming festive season as it looks to capitalise on the positive buying sentiments that generally exist in this particular period. RE endured a robust performance in the first quarter of this FY as 1.86 lakh units were sold with a massive YoY volume increase of 52 per cent.

Royal Enfield Bullet Photon Electric-1
However, it has not reached the level of sales performance it did before the health crisis wreaked havoc. Taking advantage of the growing rural and semi-urban markets, RE inaugurated more than 1,000 studio outlets over the last 24-30 months and they have helped in accelerating volumes further.

RE’s first electric model appears to be four years away according to Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director, Eicher Motors. He said that his brand is working on very basic research and a few basic platforms but nothing has been set in stone yet. It will have all the essence the brand has been renowned for while meeting the expectations of modern-day customers.

Royal Enfield believes there is scope to do something fun and different with its first electric model does persist and we can expect a brand new modular architecture devised specifically for its range of zero-emission motorcycles. It will be interesting to see how it blends with the core ‘pure motorcycling’ theme the brand projects every time.

SOURCESource