Royal Enfield goes electric
It’s truly inspiring watching brands that are entirely devoted to classic motorcycles evolve and tap into the (yet) uncharted territory of alternative fuel. Royal Enfield is only the latest bike manufacturer to join the electric movement, as the Indians started to work on an electric motorcycle platform. Yes, you read that right, an electric Royal Enfield is most likely to become reality soon.
Royal Enfield is said to have started the development of electric models in their UK-based research center. The Indian manufacturer is also taking important steps towards building products that will be compliant with the stricter emissions regulations that will become applicable as of 2020. This means a solid overhaul of its entire range destined to reach European and North American markets.
So far, Enfield has not disclosed any specific plans for their electric platform, but we could anticipate they’re also eyeing the scooter segment. Electric scooters are becoming increasingly popular all around the world, and huge markets such as China already have a massive turnover in this business. Royal Enfield joining the club has a ton of lucrative potential, so their move is only natural.
Remains to be see if RE will deliver an electric motorcycle with retro looks (which would be smashing!) or will choose the modern design language…
No Tesla motorcycles
Elon Musk of Tesla, SpaceX and HyperLoop fame says that he doesn’t see any electric motorcycles joining the current line-up. In the past years, with the larger-scale advent of Tesla’s electric cars, multiple speculations were made as to whether Musk’s company will build motorcycles, as well.
At this year’s shareholder meeting, Musk wore a leather jacket, causing one guy from the audience to ask if he considered building electric motorcycles alongside cars and trucks. The billionaire slashed this prospect, adding: “I actually used to ride motorcycles when I was kid, dirt-biking for like eight years, or something. Then I had a road bike until I was 17, and was almost killed by a truck. So we’re not going to do motorcycles.”
Now, despite Elon Musk’s reluctance to two-wheelers, the global market for electric bikes is growing bigger and stronger by the year, and Tesla could use their car’s popularity as a marketing engine for motorcycles. Something tells us that we’ll live to see Tesla bikes roaming the streets, especially with so many charging points already in place…
READ MORE on electric motorcycles: Mankame EP1.