Eicher Motors Limited (EML), the parent company of Royal Enfield, has announced a strategic collaboration in the electric motorcycles space with Spain-based Stark Future SL. As part of the collaboration, the Board of Directors of Eicher Motors has approved an investment of 50 million Euros, for a close to 10.35 per cent equity stake in Stark Future.
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With this investment, Eicher Motors Limited will have a seat on Stark Future’s Board, and will explore further opportunities to collaborate in the space of electric mobility. This investment has strategic significance for both Royal Enfield and for Stark Future, as both companies are keenly invested in creating innovative and sustainable solutions in global mobility, Royal Enfield said in a statement. Stark Future recently launched its first high performance electric motocross bike, the Stark VARG, which received an exceptional response from global media, professional riders and dealers.
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Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director, Eicher Motors Limited, says he is impressed by the Stark VARG electric dirt bike.
Speaking about Stark Future and this partnership, Eicher Motors Ltd Managing Director, Siddhartha Lal says, “We love the vision, passion and focus of the amazing team at Stark Future. Leisure motorcycles do not easily lend themselves to EV technology at this stage, due to challenges like the battery range, packaging, weight and cost. This has resulted in stunted growth of this segment till now. Stark Future has been able to understand and harness the potential of EV technology by dramatically outperforming ICE offerings, without compromising on range, weight, packaging and cost. They have created an absolutely astounding motocross motorcycle - the Stark VARG as their entry into the EV world. We believe that Stark Future has the highest potential for real breakout growth in the EV leisure space with this model, and the potential to use this strong base to extend into other contiguous segments and beyond.”
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Royal Enfield CEO B Govindrajan says Royal Enfield will supoort Stark Future in the industrialisation process. Royal Enfield will contrinue to develop its own EV platforms, Govindrajan added.
B Govindarajan, CEO, Royal Enfield, feels this is a perfectly symbiotic partnership, and says, “We are very excited to closely collaborate with Stark Future who are as focused as we are on challenging norms, pushing the boundaries and building uniquely differentiated offerings for riders. In addition to the sheer potential of Stark Future, we see immense synergies in this partnership. While they are scaling up and planning their market entry soon, we will support Stark in the industrialisation process. While they are thought leaders in EV technology, particularly in light-weight components and innovative solutions, we at Royal Enfield will draw on these capabilities for developing our EV platforms and will also plan to share some EV platforms in the future”
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The Stark VARG electric dirt bike has 80 bhp and 938 Nm with just 110 kg kerb weight.
Also speaking about this partnership, Stark Future Founder and CEO, Anton Wass says, “We aimed to challenge and inspire the motorcycle industry with the creation of the Stark VARG and by bringing our electric technology from the drawing board to reality. To now partner with one of the very first motorcycle brands in history and be part of their journey towards sustainability is a huge inspiration for us at Stark. We have now worked closely with Sid, Govind and team for a few months, and have been deeply impressed by what they have created in the past 25 years, as well as the mindset and focus to continue to build and develop Royal Enfield into the future of sustainable motorcycling. With the Stark VARG we believe we have a launch model that will reset benchmarks, so to know that the bike’s technical basis will spread much further and filter into more machinery and products is another source of pride for us. It has been a short, intense and incredible journey for us so far but our link with Royal Enfield and what lies in store in the coming years are brilliant signs for the future.”
Stark Future is a European electric motorcycle manufacturer with specific focus in the area of performance electric motorcycles. With a vision to inspire the motorcycle industry towards sustainable mobility, Stark Future endeavors to build sustainable products that are superior to traditional technology in performance, emotion & design. Stark Future has deep understanding in the EV space and connected technology, with several patents on its newly developed Stark VARG.
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The two companies will build on each other's strengths. The Stark VARG is an electric dirt bike with performance comparable to a 450 cc enduro bike.
Royal Enfield is already working on its own EV programme. The company says it has made huge strides in its EV journey over the past few years. . The company’s R&D programmes have included a major focus on sustainable mobility technologies, and there are several ideas in advanced stages of testing, the company said in the statement. The company has been aggressively building a sharp and insightful understanding of the EV space with an intention to create uniquely differentiated electric motorcycles with strong Royal Enfield DNA, in the midweight segment. Royal Enfield has been building several thoughts and approaches towards design and development and also towards bringing in the right talent and resources, the company added.
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In recent years, Royal Enfield has been steadily increasing its global presence strengthening its leadership position in the mid-size motorcycle segment and also expanding its global footprint. Royal Enfield currently has four assembly units overseas, including Thailand, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia.
