Royal Enfield is set to launch its first electric motorcycle in the final quarter of the ongoing financial year to enter the silent era of motorcycling.
“The company has identified vendors for the Flying Flea,” B Govindarajan, chief executive of the world's largest middleweight motorcycle maker, said during the post-earnings call of Eicher Motors Ltd. on Wednesday. Eicher Motors is the parent company of Royal Enfield.
Additionally, the Classic maker has earmarked an assembly line at its Vallam Vadagal plant near Chennai to manufacture the electric motorcycle, but is still working on a distribution strategy for the product.
‘Flying Flea' is a sub-brand of Royal Enfield for city-focused electric mobility. The name is a throwback to the lightweight motorcycle that could be air-dropped into a battlefield during World War II. The vehicle is retro in its use of girder forks for suspension but uses modern electrickery befitting an electric vehicle.
Stark Future, the Spanish EV brand in which Royal Enfield has 10.8% stake, is helping the company with the battery management system for Flying Flea motorcycles. Qualcomm Inc. has been roped in for providing the chipsets. Additionally, Royal Enfield has a 250-member team working on the project.
At least two Flying Flea models are in the works—the FF-C6 will launch first followed by a scrambler-style FF-S6.
“The relationship (with Stark Future) is on the right track, similar to how Volvo and VECV (Eicher Motors' CV division) collaborate,” Govindarajan said. “Any partnership that we have should add value to our journey.”
On Wednesday, Eicher Motors shares rose 0.48% to Rs 5,446.9 apiece on the BSE even as the benchmark Sensex ended the day 0.22% higher at 81,330.56 points.
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