Royal Enfield developing an electric motorcycle

- Development going on in UK technology centre

- Also working on overhauling products for 2020

Royal Enfield has started development of an electric vehicle. Speaking during the launch of the limited edition Pegasus, Rudratej Singh, president, Royal Enfield, said that a dedicated team is working on the project at the company’s technology centre in the UK.

Rudratej accepted that they will eventually have to start manufacturing electric motorcycles in order to stay relevant in the market. Until a few years ago, the Chennai-based manufacturer had been reluctant of letting go of the defining characteristics of its motorcycles which gave them their charm. But now with products like the Himalayan and the Thunderbird X, the company has shown willingness to experiment with newer trends. Rudratej accedes that developing an electric platform might prove difficult as it is something that they have never dealt with. He said, “(We) may need to look at things differently for electrical because we are still learning.”

For now, the main focus is on upgrading the products to meet stricter BS-VI emission norms for 2020. The company is still evaluating whether they can make do with the existing platforms. However, the manufacturer will invest in developing new ones if deemed necessary.