Royal Enfield parent buys stake in Stark Future

Eicher Motors Ltd., the parent company of Royal Enfield, have made a multi-million-dollar investment into Spanish electric motorcycle manufacturer, Stark Future SL, with future collaborations on electric mobility that may lead to a Royal Enfield EV.

Announced by Stark Future on 30 December, the initial equity investment consists of 50 million Euro (AU$78 million approx.) by the latter, translating to a 10.35 per cent stake in the former, plus a seat on Stark Future’s board.

Each company says the investment is strategically significant, as both are keenly interested in creating innovative, sustainable solutions for global mobility.

“We see immense synergies in this partnership,” said B Govindarajan, CEO of Royal Enfield. “While [Stark Future] are scaling up and planning their market entry, 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.”

Siddhartha Lal, Managing Director of Royal Enfield’s parent company, Eicher Motors Ltd, added: “Stark Future has 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.”

Stark’s VARG electric dirt bike was launched in 2022 and is due to arrive in Australia sometime this year. With weight comparable to existing petrol-engined 450cc dirt bikes, the VARG reportedly delivers more power (up to 60kW) from its electric motor and a six-hour ride time from its battery pack, with recharge time of up to two hours.