EV version of Royal Enfield will launch in 2025: Company isn’t in any rush

According to Siddhartha Lal, MD of Eicher Motors, Royal Enfield may still be a good 24 months away from releasing its first electric motorcycle since the firm isn't "desperate or tearing hurry" to do so.

On the eve of the introduction of Royal Enfield's new Bullet 350, Lal told reporters that although the firm already has

EVs

"All players have EV products out on the market, but none of it is selling," said Lal, MD and CEO of Eicher Motors Ltd. We won't release an EV product unless we are certain that our customers completely comprehend it. It is not enough to just introduce an electric vehicle. Lal stated that he anticipates Royal Enfield's first electric vehicle to be ready for introduction by 2025, despite the company's cautious approach to launching.

“We have been working nonstop to get it out there; we want to launch an excellent product, not just anyone," he continued. "We anticipate launching an EV by 2025, but because we have another 24 months until then, we want to give ourselves plenty of time to test and improve it further.”

Royal Enfield is in the process of choosing a distribution strategy for its EV products but is still considering all of its options. B Govindarajan, CEO of Royal Enfield, stated, "We are assessing our distribution possibilities for the sale of EVs. We take time to go through our choices before we say yes to a proposal.

Lal said the business is still open to all options in response to CNBC-TV18's inquiry about whether Royal Enfield may consider different dealerships or perhaps a new entity to sell electric motorcycles. "Our distribution network is very strong, but we are also thinking about alternative ideas that we can evaluate."

However, the corporation has decided against seeking capital to support its EV operations. We have so much money, added Lal, that we don't anticipate needing to raise further funds for this venture.

The firm has sought a performance-linked incentive (PLI), which values its investment in the EV market at over Rs 2,000 crore, together with its parent company, Eicher Motors. Lal said that Royal Enfield would be considering a different strategy for selling EVs, one that was far from a "one-for-one" comparison.

“It is hard to plan on using a petrol

motorbike

Govindarajan ruled out the idea of making any more significant investments in capacity development, despite the fact that Royal Enfield now produces between 1 million and 1.2 million units yearly. "We were able to figure out how to grow capacity modularly and are confident that we can do it whenever we like," the CEO asserted. In the near future, we do not anticipate investing heavily in capacity.

Lal said that Royal Enfield was more concerned with growth than profitability and that the business would instead concentrate on spending heavily in new areas that wanted to transition to premium goods.

In the medium to long term, Royal Enfield's market share is anticipated to decrease from 90 per cent to between 80 and 85 per cent due to increased competition in the fast-moving mid-size category (250cc to 740cc), according to Siddhartha Lal, CEO of Eicher Motors.

By forming new relationships with companies like Bajaj with Triumph and Hero Motor Corp. with Harley-Davidson, he made it clear that this did not imply that Royal Enfield was actively losing market share to competitors. "If we have a market share of 90% or more, there can only be one course of action, but even when competition enters the picture, we are not actively ceding market share," added Lal.

In an effort to expand the market and increase its market share, Royal Enfield will continue to invest in names like the Hunter and the brand-new Bullet 350, according to Lal.