Demand Grows Strongly for Ultraviolette Performance Electric Motorcycles

Even as electric scooters command the bulk of the retail sales of electric two-wheelers which clocked a record 1.4 million units in FY2026, demand is slowly growing for the nascent electric motorcycle segment in India. This sub-segment currently has only a few players in the form of Revolt Motors, TVS-backed Ultraviolette, Ola Electric, Oben EV, KLB Komaki, Matter Motor Works, Okaya EV and Wardwizard Innovations. Now, as per the latest Vahan retail sales data, demand is seen to be growing for Ultraviolette Automotive which has registered its best-ever quarter sales of 975 units in Q1 CY2026 (January-March 2026), up 373% YoY on a low year-ago base (Q1 CY2025: 206 units). 

Ultraviolette, which registered its highest first-quarter sales of 975 units in January-March 2026, looks well set to achieve record sales of around 3,800 to 4,000 units in CY2026. 

The Bengaluru-based Ultraviolette, incubated as an EV startup in 2016, manufactures performance electric motorcycles that are well-known for their high-voltage battery systems, advanced electronics, and aerospace-inspired engineering. 

Cumulative retail sales since February 2023 till May 9, 2026 indicate that Ultraviolette has delivered 3,799 electric motorcycles, of which 81% (3,085 units) have been sold in the past 16 months and 12 days. While sales in CY2023 (271 units) and CY2024 (443 units) were tepid, demand rose by 250% YoY in CY2025 (1,551 units) and is set to scale a new high this year. Between January and May 12 this year, the company has already sold and delivered 1,534 units to customers. Ultraviolette opened this year with record monthly sales of 403 in January albeit numbers were lower in February (283 units), March (289 units) and April (379 units). The first 12 days of May have seen sales of 180 units. 

On the sales network front, Ultraviolette at present has over 40 experience centres across major Indian cities and has stated that it “will be present across 100 cities by end of 2026”.

The company currently has five models on sale with pricing starting at Rs 145,000 for the Tesseract, which is the cheapest model, and goes up to Rs 449,000 for the top-end Desert Wing variant of the flagship X-47, the most expensive model in the lineup (ex-showroom). The F77 Mach 2 (155kph top speed), F77 Superstreet (155kph top speed) and X-47 (145kph top speed) share the same powertrain rated at 40.2 hp and 100 Nm of torque, with a claimed 0-60kph time of 2.8 seconds. The 10.3 kWh battery delivers an IDC-rated range of 323km per charge. The fourth product is the Shockwave (Rs 175,000) designed for efficient and eco-friendly city commuting as well as short weekend rides and targeted at urban riders. The fifth model is the Tesseract scooter (Rs 145,000) with a claimed IDC range of 261km, 0-60kph sprint in 2.9 seconds and rated for 20.4hp, helping it achieve a claimed top speed of 125kph. Deliveries of the Tesseract, which is said to have received a good response, are slated to commence in the second half of this year. 

In early March this year, Ultraviolette cut the flagship X-47’s entry-level variant’s ex-showroom price of Rs 250,000 by 101,000 by introducing the Battery-as-a-Service option to enhance affordability. 

BaaS SLASHES FLAGSHIP X-47 PRICE BY Rs 101,000

September 2025 saw Ultraviolette launch the flagship X47 model, priced at Rs 250,000 (ex-showroom) and capable of a claimed 323km range, 0-60kph in 2.7 seconds and a top speed of 145kph. Powered by a 40 hp (30 kW) motor developing 610 Nm of torque, the X47 at launch had price parity with similarly powered ICE motorcycles. 

In early March this year, in a strategic move to enhance EV affordability and similar to that adopted by TVS, Ather Energy, Bajaj Auto and Hero Vida, Ultraviolette in association with NBFC Ecofy introduced Battery Flex, a BaaS-driven battery subscription model, on all five variants of the X-47 as also the F77 Original and F77 Recon. Under this new subscription model, customers can purchase the X-47 for Rs 149,000, while the battery can be subscribed to at a starting price of Rs 2,499 per month. This EMI will have to be paid over five years. Ultraviolette says opting for Battery Flex reduces the initial purchase cost by nearly 40%, making the e-motorcycle more accessible to a wider range of buyers. After customers finish paying monthly EMIs for the battery during the financing period, the battery ownership will be transferred to them at no additional cost.

According to Ultraviolette’s CEO and co-founder Narayan Subramaniam, the new pricing structure makes the motorcycle competitive with petrol-powered bikes in a similar performance bracket. He added that the subscription model allows riders to access advanced technology and performance while keeping monthly operating costs lower than the average fuel expense for many motorcycles.

Ultraviolette at present has over 40 experience centres across major Indian cities and plans to expand its sales and service network to 100 cities in India by the end of CY2026.

CAN ULTRAVIOLETTE DISRUPT THE PREMIUM ICE MOTORCYCLE MARKET?

Admittedly, given the premium pricing of its e-motorcycles which are targeted at premium petrol-powered 300cc-400cc IC-engine motorcycles including the Royal Enfield 350c bikes (Classic, Bullet, Hunter and Meteor), Bajaj Pulsar N250, TVS Apache RTR 310, BMW G310R, Kawasaki Ninja 300, KTM 390 Duke, Husqvarna Svartpilen 401, Harley-Davidson X440 and Mavrick 440, Ultraviolette will remain a niche player. However, the recent move to offer Baas on the F77 models and X-47 seems to have clicked, making the zero-emission bikes more affordable. 

Can this Bengaluru-based e-motorcycle startup, which now also has an e-scooter, disrupt the e-2W market, particularly at the premium end? Midsize motorcycle major Royal Enfield, which marked its entry into EVs on April 9 with the Flying Flea priced at Rs 279,000 and Rs 199,000 (with Baas), has had limited success in its first month of sale. As per Vahan, only 6 units have been sold till May 12, 2026. 

Importantly, Ultraviolette e-bike performance is comparable to ICE motorcycles. In fact, in March 2025, in association with Autocar India bike testers, the revealed-at-EICMA but yet-to-be-launched Ultraviolette F99 hit 258kph on the race track at NATRAX Indore. Along the way, the green speed machine also set records for 0-100kph in under 3 seconds, 0-200kph in 9 seconds and the fastest quarter-mile in 10.712 seconds. 

The clincher, of course, is the wallet-friendlier cost of charging versus tanking up on expensive petrol (Rs 103.49 a litre in Mumbai on May 12, 2026), which is likely to get dearer soon and could see a number of ICE two-wheeler buyers across the scooter and motorcycle segments actively consider buying an EV. 

India’s top four legacy ICE 2W players – Hero MotoCorp, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Co – which have diversified into electric scooters, are looking to advance their e-2W game into electric motorcycles. Electric motorcycles is the only remaining ‘white space’ which remains unexploited due to technological constraints vis-à-vis e-scooters, high battery costs, limited range and a paucity of affordable products at present. Even a small percentage of the high-volume ICE motorcycle segment, which clocked sales of 13 million units in FY2026, would result in big numbers. 

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