Royal Enfield plans to launch electric model in 2025

According to a recent Financial Times report, Royal Enfield is in the “advanced” stages of developing its first electric bike that will be launched next year.

B. Govindarajan, Royal Enfield’s CEO, told the Financial Times that lower costs for electric motorcycles will enable the company to launch its first model next fiscal year, which starts in April 2025.

“Our focus will be on a gorgeous-looking, very differentiated electric vehicle,” he said, adding that while “no one is making money in the electric world as of now . . . the cost of an electric vehicle is rapidly changing.”

“In a year’s time, when we enter with the product, we’ll be competitive,” Govindarajan says.

EV sales growth has slowed lately as manufacturers struggle with a range issues and high costs while developing electric motorcycles has proved challenging.

According to the FT article, Royal Enfield will likely use a “fixed battery with fast charging” instead of using battery swapping technology like other manufacturers. Anuj Dua, head of Royal Enfield’s Asia-Pacific division, says the company is in the “advanced development” stage of electric bikes for that market.

In 2022, Royal Enfield invested in Spanish electric motorcycle maker Stark Future. It then previewed an electric prototype of its 450cc-engine Himalayan bike at last year’s EICMA show.

The transition to EVs in India is dominated by electric scooters, with companies such as Ola Electric and Bajaj developing inexpensive models. However, India’s government is helping to subsidize the transition to EVs to attract global manufacturers to move factories to the country. Royal Enfield’s parent Eicher has applied for subsidies under India’s production-linked incentive plan for EVs.

Govindarajan noted that while the adoption of electric motorcycles would “take some time,” it was moving faster than he initially expected. “India is very committed as a country to the technology adoption.”