Royal Enfield is planning to launch much lighter bikes to widen its target audience and has begun testing its next product. The Royal Enfield Hunter/Royal Enfield Explorer has been caught testing by ElectricVehicleWeb.in reader Gokul Selvaraj, dressed in camouflage.
The company has been developing a new model line-up that has been codenamed J1C. The new model could be named Explorer or Hunter and has been developed with feedback from women and youngsters. Expected to be lighter and with lower seat height, the bikes will be targeted for a new audience who prefer such bikes.
Royal Enfield has been losing its grip in the premium urban cruiser segment because of the competition that is much accessible to women and youngsters. The new lighter motorbikes are expected to gain the lost ground for the company. Royal Enfield has also started launching BS6 versions for its bikes and has been extending its dealership network too. Royal Enfield already has 930 dealer touch points in India and added 250 new dealer touch-points in tier II and III cities and towns.
Royal Enfield will also target the EV segment and has already started work on the same as confirmed by the company’s President, Rudratej Singh in 2018 where he told that Royal Enfield was already building prototypes of electric motorcycles at RE’s UK R&D centre.
The electric motorcycle is expected to be launched by 2023 and to be powered by a battery pack with a capacity of 5 to 10 kWh. The power and torque figures could be around 40 hp and 100 Nm and priced at around Rs 3 lakh mark.
