In a bid to accelerate its move into the electric vehicle space, Eicher Motors, the parent company of Royal Enfield, has approved a strategic investment in the European high-performance electric motorcycle manufacturer Stark Future SL.

As part of the deal, Eicher Motors will make an initial equity investment of €50 million, translating to close to 10.35 percent equity stake in Stark Future SL, the company said in a statement on Dec 29.

With this investment, Eicher Motors will have a seat on Stark Future’s Board and will explore further opportunities to collaborate in the space of electric mobility.

This investment will pave the way for a long-term partnership in collaborative research and development in electric motorcycles, technology sharing, technical licensing and manufacturing Eicher Motors, the statement from the company added.

Royal Enfield will be supporting Stark in the industrialisation process and the maker of Classic and Thunderbird will draw on the capabilities of Stark in light-weight components and innovative solutions, in developing its own EV platforms. Both the companies may also plan to share electric vehicle architectures in the future.

Stark Future is a multinational company, established in 2020 with Swedish roots, located on the fringes of Barcelona. Making the most of Catalunya’s reputation as the European capital of motorcycling, Stark Future was able to construct a dedicated, passionate, and knowledgeable team from the elite of both the motorcycle and power electronics industries, in order to build the first electric motorcycle to be the performance leader within its category, Motocross.

Stark Future rapidly started work on the first flagship model of an ambitious range of next-generation electric motorcycles, the Stark VARG, which the company claims is the lightest, most powerful motocross bike in the world.

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.

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.

Speaking about Stark Future and this partnership, Eicher Motors Managing Director, Siddhartha Lal says he loves the vision, passion and focus of the 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,” Lal said.

Praising the Stark Varg, Lal said that Stark has created an “absolutely astounding motocross motorcycle” 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,” Lal added.  

Stark Future has a specific focus in the area of performance electric motorcycles. Stark Future has understanding in the EV space and connected technology, with several patents on its newly developed Stark VARG.

Stark Future Founder and CEO, Anton Wass says, he has now worked closely with Siddhartha Lal, Govindrajan and his team for a few months, and he has been deeply impressed with what Royal Enfield has 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. 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,” added Wass.

Wass said he aimed to challenge and inspire the motorcycle industry with the creation of the Stark VARG and by bringing its 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,” he added.

On its part, Royal Enfield has made strides on its EV journey over the last 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.

Royal Enfield has been building several thoughts and approaches towards design and development and also towards bringing in the right talent and resources.

B Govindarajan, CEO of Royal Enfield says this is a perfectly symbiotic partnership and says, “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.” 

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, added the company statement

Stark Future is a multinational company, established in 2020 with Swedish roots, located on the fringes of Barcelona.

Making the most of Catalunya’s reputation as the European capital of motorcycling, Stark Future was able to construct a dedicated, passionate, and knowledgeable team from the elite of both the motorcycle and power electronics industries, in order to build the first electric motorcycle to be the performance leader within its category, Motocross.

Stark Future rapidly started work on the first flagship model of an ambitious range of next-generation electric motorcycles, the Stark VARG, which the company claims is the lightest, most powerful motocross bike in the world.