Indian EV market seeks entry of Royal Enfield's first EV

In addition to previously stating that ICE and EV

two-wheelers

"The electric motorbike won't be available for sale for almost two years. We are driving our test vehicles. We will need some time, though. Lal said at a press conference with reporters following the release of the company's Q1 results that we don't want to disclose anything that isn't fully developed to the market.

"Our plan is to be totally disruptive," he continued. “Therefore, it is not about putting something in and hoping, facing off against rivals, or outperforming them. In terms of

EV

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the venerable bike manufacturer has started working on electric vehicle (EV) research. To give a more concentrated emphasis on the EV sector, Eicher Motors established a specialised arm for its EV project, the business has already assembled a committed team of over 100 individuals under the direction of CTO Umesh Krishnappa.

"We have hired someone who is establishing a team and managing the commercial aspect of the EV business. Although there is a lot of work being done”, Lal cautioned that it will still be a few years away.

For this fiscal year, Royal Enfield has set aside more than Rs 1,000 crore in capital expenditures, the majority of which will be used to create goods and sales infrastructure for electric vehicles. Before moving into a new, greenfield plant in Cheyyar, the company is in the midst of setting up a specialised assembly line with a capacity of around 1.5 lakh units annually for its electric vehicles.

Regarding the argument that EVs fall under the purview of "Royal Enfield and Eicher Motors," Lal responds, "We do study all alternatives, we look at what others are doing, but we are not trend followers. The primary business must also be considered; is it a sunset business? You further dilute yourself if you put your eggs in something else. There is absolutely no attempt or activity to modify that the EV will remain inside Eicher Motors and be the future growth engine for Eicher Motors and Royal Enfield.”

According to Govindarajan, CEO of Royal Enfield, the business is developing a strong team that is focused solely on EV projects because the product strategy is an extremely "elaborate process" that requires knowing "consumers' requirements."

"We are putting up some capacity, testing the mules, and registering with the supply partners. But it's only one car; there are other components, such as battery management systems and motor control unit systems, that must be made for electric vehicles. The partners have all been created. Therefore, we are operating at full throttle in terms of execution”, said Govindrajan.

Following the release of its June quarter results, which Lal referred to as its "best ever," Eicher Motors' stock price increased by about 1.6 per cent.