Having plugged into the electric motorcycle market in August 2019 and risen to the best-selling zero-emission bike OEM in India, can this pioneering brand hold onto its strategic first-mover advantage amidst growing competition?
26 May 2025 | 2626 Views | By Ajit Dalvi & Mayank Dhingra
Achieving success is one thing and ensuring consistent No. 1 status is another. The challenge is all the more daunting when you are a startup, up against players that have been in the two-wheeler industry for decades. Manesar-based Revolt Motors, which was amongst the earliest OEMs in India to launch ...
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Achieving success is one thing and ensuring consistent No. 1 status is another. The challenge is all the more daunting when you are a startup, up against players that have been in the two-wheeler industry for decades. Manesar-based Revolt Motors, which was amongst the earliest OEMs in India to launch an electric motorcycle in CY 2019, is hoping that a head-start of five years will help it see off competition from more wellentrenched rivals over the next two-three years.
The company has five models in the market, including the RV BlazeX priced at Rs 119,990, launched in February. The high-on-connectivity RV BlazeX is powered by a 3.2 kWh lithium-ion battery pack along with a 4.1 kW middrive electric motor that empower a top speed of 85kph and a claimed 150km range on a single charge.
Keeping the RV BlazeX company in the Revolt stable are the RV1 (Rs 89,990/2.2 kWh/100km), RV1+ (Rs 104,990/3.24 kWh/160km), RV400 (Rs 113,750/3.24 kWh/150km) and RV400 BRZ (Rs 126,950/3.24 kWh/150km). While the RV1 and RV1+ were launched in September 2024, the RV400 BRZ was introduced in the nascent electric motorcycle market in January 2024.
RV400, along with the now-discontinued RV300, were the first products from the company, launched in August 2019. Revolt Intellicorp was a venture promoted by Rahul Sharma, co-founder of the giant consumer electronics company, Micromax. It was acquired by New Delhiheadquartered Rattan India Enterprises, the flagship company of the Rattan India Group which is engaged in tech-focussed, new-age businesses including e-commerce, EV s, fintech and drones, in January 2023.
BlazeX Guns For Premium Commuters
Motorcycles command two-third of the humungous two-wheeler market, leaving the rest to scooters and a minuscule percentage to the humble moped. Revolt has three levels of offerings – the RV1 and RV1+ at the bottom, the RV400 and RV400 BRZ at the top, and the RV BlazeX in the middle. Revolt Motors’ strategy to pit the RV1 and RV1+ against the volume-driven, fuel-sipping, price-sensitive, entry level petrol-engine commuter motorcycle segment last year seems to have clicked, the company receiving over 16,000 bookings in the first few weeks of bookings.
Vahan retail sales data for FY2025 reveals that monthly sales for Revolt took off after the RV1 and RV1+ were introduced in September 2024. According to the company, with up to 70% lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO ), Revolt motorcycles offer significant cost benefits versus their petrol-engine counterparts.
Enthused by the success of the RV1 and RV1+, Revolt Motors has strategically priced the new RV BlazeX at Rs 119,990 (ex-showroom India), positioning it above the two bikes and below the higher-priced RV400 and RV400 BRZ siblings. It’s also no surprise that the new RV BlazeX is built on the same second-generation platform that spawned the RV1 and RV+.
Interestingly, the RV BlazeX’s sticker price is the starting price for a number of the base variants in the premium 150- 200cc IC engine commuter motorcycle, which is currently witnessing a sales decline. In fact, this 150cc-200cc ICE bike category is (along with the 800-1000cc segment) the only one in the 12 sub-segments to have seen a decline in FY2025, selling 10,99,816 units (down 9% YoY).
With rising petrol prices, and a growing transition to electric two-wheelers in India, Revolt Motors believes its electric motorcycles have the potential to disrupt the commuter-motorcycle market with the promise of lower TCO (total cost of ownership), modern technology, and the convenience of a stress-free, gearless commute.
While it can be surmised that some 150-200cc ICE bike buyers could be migrating to higher-power performance bikes, some of them keen on a two-wheeler electric motorcycle could constitute a target audience for the RV BlazeX.
Revolt Gets Ready to Meet New Rivals
With retail sales of 9,951 units in CY 2024, Revolt Motors registered strong 43% YoY growth. This performance, which gave it a 0.86% share of the overall e2W market, ensured that the company rose in the e2W OEM rankings to No. 10 from No. 14 in CY 2023.
However, it is to be noted that the CY 2024 retails are not its best annual sales numbers. That was in CY 2022 (14,910 units) when it had a 2.36% market share of the 631,397 electric two-wheelers sold that year. In FY2025, Revolt Motors clocked retail sales of 11,568 units, up 64% YoY, a performance which gave it the No. 8 rank, a very creditable performance for an electric bikeonly manufacturer in a field populated by e-scooter OEMs.
The company opened FY2026 with retail sales of 624 units, somewhat tepid compared to the first three months of CY 2025: January: 1,061 units, February: 761 units or March: 1,397 units. As a result of being in the e-motorcycle market for over five years now, Revolt Motors has benefited from a firstmover advantage.
TVS Motor-backed Ultraviolette, unveiled its F77 performance e-motorcycle a year later for Rs 380,000 and followed it up with the F77 Mach 2 priced at Rs 299,000 in April 2024. Compared to the e-scooter segment, there are only a handful of e-motorcycle OEMs – Oben EV, KLB Komaki, Matter Motor Works, Okaya EV , Orxa Energies and Wardwizard Innovations. Of these, Revolt is the only one to register strong monthly retail numbers.
Rising Competition
More recently, fresh competition has come Revolt’s way in the form of Ola Electric, which has entered the electric motorcycle market with its entry level Ola Roadster X series starting at Rs 74,999. Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal is extremely bullish on demand for the Roadster X series. In an investor call, he had said: “Motorcycles, as we all know, are about 2x the scooter market.
We are actually very, very encouraged by the response and interest we are getting on our motorbikes, and feel this is going to be the real inflection point for the EV 2-wheeler, 3-wheeler industry in India, which is motorbikes gaining EV penetration, and it's all going to happen in the next couple of quarters.”
Ola also has other electric motorcycle launches planned later this year including the sporty midsized Sportster. Ola is not the sole new competition it has to contend with. Revolt will also have to take on new competition from Hero MotoCorp, which has confirmed plans to enter the e-motorcycle market in FY2026-27. Hero MotoCorp and its partner Zero Motorcycles will launch their middleweight electric bike albeit it is a premium model. The Hero-Zero EV platform will spawn four products – two high-performance motorcycles and two mid- to high-performance green bikes.
Mid-size motorcycle leader Royal Enfield too has confirmed plans to enter the e-motorcycle segment with its all-electric ‘Flying Flea’ brand. Meanwhile, Ather Energy, in which Hero MotoCorp has an equity stake, is also working on an electric motorcycle platform called ‘Zenith’ which will spawn products to target ICE motorcycles in the 125-300cc segments. There will also be a new scooter platform named ‘EL’.
Revolt Eyes pre-IPO Funding
Revolt Motors plans to raise money from private investors this year before it goes public with an Initial Public Offering (IPO) to fuel its growth with more products and a new research and development centre. The company wants some investors in place before deciding to go for an IPO, Anjali Rattan, the chairperson of the parent company, told Autocar Professional on the sidelines of the launch of its latest model – RV BlazeX – in February 2025.
“We would try a pre-IPO round and then an IPO. The whole journey right now is to take the monthly selling number from 2,000 units to 5,000, and then go for an investment, followed by an IPO,” Rattan had said. Revolt plans to secure funding from private investors this year, with a potential IPO next year. However, the company has not determined the exact amount of money it plans to raise in this pre-IPO round. RattanIndia has invested close to Rs 500 crore in Revolt after acquiring the company in January 2023.
Cognisant of the fact that the nascent e-motorcycle segment is soon to draw new competition, Revolt Motors is also getting battle ready with plans covering new products, R&D, and manufacturing. At present, the company has ample capacity on hand at its Manesar plant: 180,000 units per annum. While it has a fully functional in-house R&D centre in Manesar (Haryana), Revolt Motors plans to open a new R&D facility in South India.
“My plan is to have an R&D centre in South India because there you get good talent. We have started working towards that,” Rattan outlined. She believes the company should focus and spend more on R&D for more products and the right kind of technologies. "Strong products, backed by good technologies, can achieve significant growth even with limited marketing,” Rattan added.
India, which is motorbikes gaining EV penetration, and it's all going to happen in the next couple of quarters.” Ola also has other electric motorcycle launches planned later this year including the sporty midsized Sportster. Ola is not the sole new competition it has to contend with. Revolt will also have to take on new competition from Hero MotoCorp, which has confirmed plans to enter the e-motorcycle market in FY2026-27.
Hero MotoCorp and its partner Zero Motorcycles will launch their middleweight electric bike albeit it is a premium model. The Hero-Zero EV platform will spawn four products – two high-performance motorcycles and two mid- to high-performance green bikes. Mid-size motorcycle leader Royal Enfield too has confirmed plans to enter the e-motorcycle segment with its all-electric ‘Flying Flea’ brand.
Meanwhile, Ather Energy, in which Hero MotoCorp has an equity stake, is also working on an electric motorcycle platform called ‘Zenith’ which will spawn products to target ICE motorcycles in the 125-300cc segments. There will also be a new scooter platform named ‘EL’.
Scaling Up
Since it acquired Revolt Motors two years ago, Rattan India Enterprises has invested close to Rs 500 crore in the company, including its R&D and manufacturing setup. Speaking to Autocar Professional at the BlazeX launch on February 25, Anjali Rattan, chairperson, RattanIndia Enterprises, pointed out that the company remains fully committed to infusing capital into the venture. The company is targeting sales of 5,000-7,000 e-bikes a month in the near term, with a target of selling 40,000 to 45,000 e-bikes in FY2026.
The company has an aggressive localisation programme and currently uses components from Sona Comstar, Uno Minda, Rockman, FIEM and JBM. Although it already has a manufacturing capacity of 180,000 units in Manesar (Haryana), Revolt is also exploring manufacturing capacity expansion through an integrated greenfield facility and R&D Centre in south India. Furthermore, it plans to aggressively expand its sales and service network to 500 outlets by 2026.
“We see the foray of competitors into the electric motorcycle segment as an opportunity that will open up and expand the market,” says the company’s chairperson. The company, which has begun exporting its e-motorcycles to Sri Lanka and Nepal, aims to also tap commuter motorcycle-driven markets such as Latin America, Africa and South East Asia. It is currently working on three new products including a premium commuter motorcycle. According to Rattan, the aim is to launch two new products every year. “While one of these could be a refreshed product, the other one will be a brand-new model,” she said.