As we all know, Royal Enfield has planned several new models across 350cc, 450cc and 650cc bike segments. The company will also foray into the electric two-wheeler space sometime next year. With its upcoming new models, RE will setup a new manufacturing plant in Cheyyar, on the outskirts of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It’s reported that the two-wheeler maker has already acquired a 60-acre land parcel in that area. The company will make a huge investment (between Rs 1,000 crore to 1,500 crore) in the next couple of years. The investment amount will depend on the final production capacity.
Royal Enfield’s new Tamil Nadu facility will serve as production hub for the ICE (internal combustion engine) bikes including the new Super Meteor 650, updated Interceptor 650 and Continental GT 650. RE’s existing Oragadam and Vallam Vadagal based facilities produce over a million units on annual basis and both plants will be enough to meet the increasing demand for the next few years. The first Royal Enfield electric bike is expected to be produced in a dedicated setup within the Vallam Vadagal facility. Its prototype is likely to arrive in this fiscal year and market launch will happen sometime in 2024.
The new Royal Enfield electric bike will be built on an all-new L platform that will be developed jointly by RE and Stark Future SL (the Spain-based EV two-wheeler maker). Just so you know, Eicher Motors, the parent company of Royal Enfield, made a strategic investment in Stark Future SL in late 2022. Under this long-term partnership, both companies will collaboratively perform R&D for electric bikes, manufacturing and technical licencing.
As of now, details of the upcoming Royal Enfield electric bike are scanty. Though, its reported to come with a 96V system delivering high performance. Its new ‘L’ platform will compatible to multiple body styles that will be divided as L1A, L1B and L1C.
