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Royal Enfield’s EV vertical to start delivering electric motorcycles in a year
Royal Enfield's Flying Flea showcased its electric motorcycle in Bengaluru, after holding similar showcases in Delhi, London, and Mumbai, as the brand looks to make strides in the EV segment.
Royal Enfield’s electric vehicle brand, Flying Flea, is expected to begin delivering its first set of electric motorcycles in one year, the firm’s chief growth officer, Mario Alvisi, said at the brand’s Bengaluru showcase on Friday.
The motor vehicle brand wants to target a new customer base, with its line of electric two-wheelers, which will be manufactured at Royal Enfield’s existing manufacturing facility at Vallam Vadagal, Tamil Nadu.
On establishing Flying Flea as a separate brand, Alvisi said Royal Enfield evaluated a number of options, whether structuring it as a part of Royal Enfield or making it a standalone entity or an endorsed brand.
“We have to build something that is different, something completely new and different. So that's why we decided to go with this unique endorsed brand,” Alvisi noted.
Flying Flea’s Chief Technology Officer Umesh Krishnappa added that the brand will have the speed at which a startup scales while using the strength of the Royal Enfield team. “We take it like it is a startup within the company itself,” he said.
The company has partnered with Qualcomm for software and is designing its battery technology in-house. The brand has filed around 50 provisional patents for its battery, power, motors, and controllers.
It will roll out electric motorcycles in phases, with phase one targeting the European, Indian and US markets. Alvisi, on the sidelines of the event, said that the brand is seeing “strong requests” from Brazil, Thailand, and other countries.
Flying Flea expects to roll out multiple products in the coming years. Alvisi added that it is aware that the technology and infrastructure in the electric vehicle space are constantly evolving—which is the thought of process behind the city+ riding experience with the C6 model, which is designed for short excursions outside cities.
“That's why we started Flying Flea with the city+ experience, and then we will be testing the technology for the long distance. But we need some more time, but also the entire infrastructure and industry also needs to be ready for that,” she added.
When rolled out, the brand will compete with Bhavish Aggarwal-led Ola Electric’s line of motorcycles, which is expected to begin deliveries this month, as well as other brands like Ultraviolette Automotive.
Edited by Kanishk Singh
