Love them or hate them, Royal Enfield has been doing things right lately. From small-displacement models that flex their capabilities like the Himalayan and Guerrilla 450, to retro, accessible, and easily customizable bikes like the Interceptor and Classic 650, the brand seems to know pretty much what riders want.
Now, in reality, RE could easily sit back, relax, and sip some chai as it coasts on its success—perhaps for the next couple of years or so. But this clearly isn’t the case. Royal Enfield is adamant about being a driving force of innovation, and nowhere is this clearer than with its electric initiatives.
The idea of an electric Royal Enfield has been floating around for some time now—since the turn of the decade. no doubt But it was at EICMA 2023 when we first saw this become a reality, at least in concept form, when RE pulled the covers off the Electric Himalayan Test Bed. Fast forward to EICMA 2024, and Royal Enfield went in a different direction, unveiling the Flying Flea electric concept. And as it would turn out, the Flying Flea wasn’t meant to just be a one-off model. It’s actually Royal Enfield’s new sub-brand for all things electric.
Diehard Enfield simps would be familiar with the Flying Flea name, a lightweight motorcycle used in combat during World War II. These days, that name is more of an homage, but it’s shaping up to be so much more in the near future.
In terms of styling, the Flying Flea concept is clearly retro-inspired. But beneath the surface, this thing has a solid eye for the future. Diving into the tech, Royal Enfield has teamed up with a pretty big name in the tech industry: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. Gadget heads and gamers among you would be familiar with this company, as its high-tech chips have become a staple in smartphones and gaming consoles alike. And guess what? RE’s using Qualcomm’s Snapdragon QWM2290 SoC and Car-to-Cloud Platform in its Flying Flea motorcycles.
Now, I’m not going to pretend that I know how this letter and number soup works, but Royal Enfield and Qualcomm say that it’ll give the electric motorcycles next-gen connectivity. Stuff like real-time diagnostics, advanced navigation, ride customization, and remote capabilities via your smartphone. Think of it as an advanced version of the Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and 4G stuff we’re seeing on bikes these days.
With all that on the table, it’s clear that Royal Enfield is confident that it can make something really big in the EV two-wheeler scene. Nevertheless, it’s by no means a risk-free path. Diving this deep in the EV space is uncharted territory for many legacy brands like Royal Enfield, and we’ve seen startups dedicated entirely to this new tech pay the ultimate price.
That said, RE has the heritage, funding, and most importantly, the loyal customer base, to keep itself afloat. So only time will really tell if the Flying Flea sub-brand will be the soaring success RE envisions it to be.
Source: Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
