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      Royal Enfield Electric Motorcycle Launch Timeline Revealed By Sid Lal

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      Royal Enfield is currently the most popular Neo-Retro and Retro cruiser motorcycle manufacturer in IndiaRoyal Enfield Electric Motorcycle. File photo.Royal Enfield is on fire right now. Not literally, but yeah. Staying true to ‘four motorcycles a year’ strategy, the Chennai-based manufacturer has launched Scram 411, a new Classic 350 and the recently launched Hunter 350. We are yet to see another launch by Royal Enfield by the end of this year.But due to climate change and rising fuel costs, EVs are gaining a lot of traction even here in India too. Europe reckons that it can become carbon neutral by 2035. Looking at the old continent’s ambitious roadmap, other markets are also striving toward electrification including Indian EV market. Both car and motorcycle manufacturers alike are pledging towards an EV future.Royal Enfield Electric MotorcycleBut what about Royal Enfield? What is this legacy brand doing to meet the EV future? Which is inevitably going to happen, sooner or later. Eicher Motors CEO Siddhartha Lal has given subtle hints at the Hunter 350 launch event as to what kind of EVs may come out of Royal Enfield stables in the coming years.At Hunter 350 launch, there were discussions about Royal Enfield EVs. And Sid Lal mentioned that the very first Royal Enfield electric vehicle will be revealed in three to four years. I mean, it is not an exact timeline. But it is now evident that Royal Enfield is working on an EV or at least has a plan on its mind.Royal Enfield Electric – Private ModificationBut four years of development and waiting is a lot. And you might be wondering how hard it could be to import batteries from China and slap it on an existing Royal Enfield platform replacing its engine and calling it a day. Right? When speed is prioritized over quality, EV fire hazards happen as we have witnessed.Royal Enfield doesn’t make products this way. The British brand prioritizes reliability, good engineering and consistency. If we take a look at the recently launched Hunter 350, its development started way back in 2016, six years ago. Okay, we had Covid-19-related delays. But still, we can say that Hunter 350 took around four years to launch.What To Expect?Sid Lal mentioned that Royal Enfield is currently working on a few different projects, but nothing is final yet. Developing an EV to match the performance of their 350cc or 650cc platforms will be very expensive. Because batteries pack enough energy to make 20 to 30 bhp will be a lot. So, battery tech needs to improve significantly. Along with that, India should start manufacturing batteries here locally to reduce battery costs.Royal Enfield is in no hurry and will take their own sweet sweet time to roll out an EV that will be good, and also meet all expectations too. Be it looks, be it performance, be it range. We can expect Royal Enfield upcoming EVs to have around 100 to 150 km range from a single charge, and performance enough to match their 350cc portfolio. But sadly, we have to wait for years to get our hands on one.Source More

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      New Hero Xpulse 300, Xtreme 300S Spied – Himalayan, Pulsar Rival ?

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      Hero was one of the OG companies to introduce India to ADVs, semi-faired and fully-faired bikesNew Hero Motorcycles Spied – Xpulse 300 and Xtreme 300S ?Hero MotoCorp is the largest motorcycle company in the world in terms of sales volume. But most of its sales come from entry level budget commuters that often don’t appeal to enthusiasts. So, the company had introduced its 200cc platform and had based XPulse 200 off-roader, XPulse 200T tourer and a fully-faired sporty Xtreme 200 S too.While XPulse 200 off-roader soon became an instant hit, the other two were not received that well. But Hero had promised the launch of their 300cc platform a couple of years ago which has not materialized until now. But it looks like they have interesting launches planned for 2023.Two new motorcycles have been spied testing in Leh Ladakh region by Gowtham Naidu. One is an adventure motorcycle and the other is a fully faired motorcycle. There is no confirmation as of now what these motorcycles are, but as per our best guess, these are likely to be upcoming Hero MotoCorp motorcycles.New Hero XPulse 300The main highlight of this development will be Hero XPulse 300 as Indian automotive enthusiasts had been waiting for a no-nonsense off-roader at an affordable price. Only Hero can pull something like this as we have seen with incredible value for money XPulse 200 that recently got a Rally Edition.New Hero Xpulse 300 Spied In Leh Ladakh?Back in 2020, Hero had showcased a 300cc engine mated to a trellis frame. Right now, Hero doesn’t have any trellis-frame product, except for the Hero 450RR Dakar Rally motorcycle (which isn’t road-legal). The showcased frame also had a red finish on its frame as the race-only 450RR.Hero Xpulse 300 Concept vs Production SpiedIn the video, Gowtham Naidu mentions that it is a Himalayan 450 test mule. But upon closer inspection, we could easily spot the same clutch cover, red trellis frame, front spoked wheels with petal disc, same swingarm and the chrome finished side stand from the concept shown in February 2020. The test mule also has the RJ 14 registration plate, which is Jaipur, where Hero R&D is located.New Hero XPulse 300 gets spoked wheels at the front and back. It is likely to retain the 21” at front and 18” at the rear as XPulse 200. But owing to larger size, it is likely to get fatter rubber. Beak at the front is also present, but is visually stubbier than on XPulse 200. The upcoming off-roader will compete with Royal Enfield Himalayan, KTM 390 Adventure, Yezdi Adventure and BMW G 310 GS that recently got colour upgrades.Hero Xpulse 300 Concept vs Production SpiedNew Hero Xtreme 300SComing to Hero’s fully-faired 300cc test mule, it does look like a sizeable product and not lean and sharp like KTM RC 390. Going with previous fully-faired Hero bikes like Karizma ZMR, we can expect Xtreme 300S to be a decently large product. Xtreme 300S gets neatly designed fairing, alloy wheels, sporty clip-on handlebars and a lot more.Xtreme 300S is likely to get the same 300 cc engine as the XPulse 300 but in a different state of tune to suit the character of the bike. It will get road-spec tyres unlike AT tyres on XPulse 300. If Hero pulls off the design well, we might witness popularity of Hero’s fully-faired products going up significantly. In effect, 300S would be a fitting alternative to current faired machines like RC 390, BMW G 310 RR, and Apache RR 310.Hero Xtreme 300S Fully Faired Motorcycle?Specs & LaunchWe can expect the engine to displace a little over 300cc and make almost 27-30 bhp and around 25 Nm of torque. Both XPulse 300 and Xtreme 300S will get the same engines. Hero is also likely to introduce an XPulse 300T, a touring version of this platform at a later date.If everything goes according to Hero’s roadmap, we can expect both XPulse 300 and Xtreme 300S to launch in early 2023. In typical Hero MotoCorp fashion, upcoming XPulse 300 and Xtreme 300S will be extremely value for money. They will undercut competition by a significant margin too.Source More

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      Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Launch Price Rs 1.5 L To Rs 1.69 L

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      Royal Enfield is upping their value quotient with Hunter 350 as it will be the least expensive offering from its stablesNew Royal Enfield Hunter 350 LaunchedRoyal Enfield has created Hunter 350 mainly aiming at the younger audience and it shows in the design. We can see the neatly laid out motorcycle with smaller proportions than what we usually associate with the Royal Enfield brand. It also gets eye-catching colour schemes and modern stylish graphics. Even though it is targeted at a younger audience, it is a modern retro through and through.Pricing starts from Rs. 1.5 lakh for Retro variant, Rs 1.64 lakh for the Metro variant Dapper Series and goes all the way till Rs. 1.69 lakh for Metro Rebel variants (prices ex-sh, Chennai). With varied feature differences between Retro and Metro, Royal Enfield has created two distinct motorcycles set to appeal to different audiences as uncovered from the launch event led by CEO Siddhartha Lal. Let’s break it down.Royal Enfield Hunter 350 RetroWhere TVS Ronin has mixed personalities, Hunter 350 is being positioned as an Urban Cruiser. As it gets blacked-out engine bay and along with fork gaiters and visor, one can easily transform Hunter 350 into a scrambler with block pattern tyres too.Hunter Retro gets spoked wheels, 300 mm disc brake at front and drum at rear, single-channel ABS, switch gear and instrument cluster from Classic 350, halogen tail lamp and oval-shaped turn signals. 17” Spoked wheels on Retro are shod with 100/80 rubber at front and 120/80 at its rear.New Royal Enfield Hunter 350 LaunchedRetro trim doesn’t get a main stand and weighs only 177 kg. Lower-spec Retro trim is offered with only two colour options, Factory Black and Factory Silver. But Royal Enfield has offered a slew of accessories covered below, to spruce things up considerably.  Hunter 350 Metro & Metro RebelWhile Retro trims appeal to purists, Metro is certainly shooting for the youth and enthusiasts. Metro trim also has a lot more to offer than Retro in terms of features, colours and also cool factors. The large Royal and Enfield branding on either side of fuel may split opinions, but the company has options too.Hunter 350 Metro trims get alloy wheels finished in black, 300 mm disc brake at front and 270 mm disc at the rear, dual-channel ABS, LED taillights, and round turn indicators. Switchgear and instrument cluster are from the more modern Meteor 350 which also gets an option to opt for the tripper screen that enables Bluetooth and smartphone connectivity with notifications, navigation, and more.New Royal Enfield Hunter 350 LaunchedTyres get an upgrade over Retro trim as Metro trims are shod with 110/70 rubber at front and 140/70 rubber at the rear. Dapper White and Dapper Ash are the colours to choose from. However, Dapper Grey can only be available via RE’s MIY personalization platform. Metro Rebel versions get Rebel Black, Rebel Blue and Rebel Red (via MIY). Due to extra features, hardware and main stand, Metro weighs 181 kg.Powertrains & AccessoriesHunter 350 is based on Royal Enfield’s modern J-series platform. Hence, gets the same 349 cc single-cylinder engine as found on Meteor 350. This is a massive departure from Royal Enfield’s spine-shattering engines of yesteryear with a lot of vibrations. It makes 20.2 bhp at 6,100 RPM and 27 Nm at 4,000 RPM and is mated to a 5-speed gearbox with 114 km/h top speed and 36.2 km/l fuel efficiency. It gets a decent 150 mm of ground clearance and 800 mm of seat height.Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Official Accessories (1/x) pic.twitter.com/Kh2FhsceS9— RushLane (@rushlane) August 7, 2022Royal Enfield has also offered a slew of accessories under two distinct themes, Urban and Suburban. Urban theme accessories include a blacked-out engine guard, ribbed seat, sump guard, tail tidy, fly screen, black LED indicators and bar-end mirrors. Suburban accessories include a different engine guard, seat, silver sump guard, pillion backrest, stylized conventional mirrors and a pannier with a waterproof inner bag. These accessories can be bought separately too. Apart from these, Royal Enfield also sells billet aluminum fuel filler caps in black or silver and covers too. More

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      Two Wheeler Retail Sales Jul 2022 – Hero, Yamaha, Bajaj, RE, Jawa, Yezdi

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      While two wheeler wholesales increased on a YoY basis, retail sales dipped 10.92 percent in July 2022Royal Enfield Sultan by Neev MotorcyclesIn the earlier post we discussed the wholesale numbers, which were units sold by manufacturer to dealers. In this post we will take a look at the retail numbers, which are two wheelers sold to consumers by dealers.Retail sales of two wheelers as revealed by Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), shows off a 10.92 percent YoY de-growth. Sales stood at 10,09,574 units in July 2022, down from 11,33,344 units sold in July 2021. It was however, a 13.70 percent growth over 8,87,942 units sold in July 2020 but a 27.86 percent de-growth as compared to 13,99,532 units sold in July 2019 (the pre-Covid period).Two Wheeler Retail Sales July 2022Hero MotoCorp stood at the top of this list with retail sales of 3,20,301 units in July 2022, down from 4,10,946 units sold in July 2021. Market share dipped to 31.73 percent from 35.47 percent held in July 2021. Rising prices as was announced by the company from July 2021, could have been a reason for this de-growth along with ever increasing fuel costs which has lowered buyer sentiments across all segments.Honda two wheeler retail sales were at 2,62,054 units in July 2022, down  from 2,77,983 units sold in July 2021. Market share however, increased to 25.96 percent from 24.53 percent YoY. At No. 3 was TVS Motor Company with retail sales of 1,65,145 units in July 2022. This was only a marginal de-growth over 1,65,555 units sold in July 2021 while market share improved to 16.36 percent from 14.61 percent held in July 2021.Two Wheeler Retail Sales July 2022 vs July 2021 (YoY)Bajaj Auto and Suzuki also posted YoY de-growth. Bajaj retail sales dipped to 93,755 units in the past month from 1,37,565 units retailed in July 2021 while Suzuki sales fell to 43,993 units last month as against 47,271 units sold in July 2021. However, in the case of Suzuki, market share improved to 4.36 percent from 4.17 percent YoY.The only ICE powered leading two wheeler maker to post a YoY growth was India Yamaha Motors. Sales increased to 41,009 units in July 2022, up from 40,537 units sold in July 2021. Market share also went up to 4.06 percent from 3.58 percent YoY. Royal Enfield has seen retail sales of 40,162 units in July 2022 down from 42,788 units sold in July 2021 but a marginal increase in market share to 3.98 percent from 3.78 percent YoY.Electric Two Wheeler Sales Increase YoYAdded demand has been shown towards electric two wheelers in recent months with retail sales increasing several fold for some electric two wheeler makers. Hero Electric sales stood at 8,679 units in July 2022, up from 4,223 units sold in July 2021. Market share went up to 0.86 percent from 0.37 percent YoY.Two Wheeler Retail Sales July 2022 vs June 2022 (MoM)Okinawa Autotech, which was ahead of Hero Electric in June 2022, saw retail sales of 7,999 units in July 2022, up from 2,580 units sold in July 2021. It was followed by Ampere Vehicles with 6,106 unit retail sales, a growth over 657 units sold in July 2021 bringing up market share to 0.60 percent from 0.06 percent YoY. Ola Electric two wheeler retails stood at 3,426 units in the past month commanding a market share of 0.34 percent.Thereafter, the list also included Classic Legends (Jawa / Yezdi – 2,971 units) and Piaggio Vehicles (Vespa / Aprilia – 2,915 units) with Classic Legends reporting a YoY growth but Piaggio sales dipped from 3,454 units sold in July 2021. Revolt (2,261 units), Ather (1,192 units) and Benling India (1,035 units) were lower down the list along with Okaya EV (1,028 units) and PUR Energy (928 units). Other two wheeler retail sales, which also included electric two wheeler makers, posted sales of 4,615 units in July 2022 up from 1,919 units sold in July 2021. More

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      TVS Creon Based Electric Scooter Spied Testing For First Time ?

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      With electric two-wheeler sales registering strong growth, it’s an opportune time for OEMs to expand their EV portfolioFirst spy shot of TVS Creon Electric Scooter?India’s third largest two-wheeler manufacturer, TVS has allocated funds worth Rs 1,000 crore for development of new electric vehicles. It will include electric scooters, motorcycles and three-wheelers. One of the upcoming electric scooters could be based on the Creon Concept that was showcased at 2018 Auto Expo. A test mule with similar design was recently spotted on road tests in Bengaluru.TVS had marked its entry in EV space with iQube and recently launched the updated 2022 model. A total of three variants are on offer, iQube, iQube S and iQube ST. While the new iQube offers higher range and new features, its design and styling are largely the same as the earlier model. Among the list of cosmetic changes are 10 new colour options.2023 TVS Creon Electric ScooterIn comparison to iQube, TVS new Creon-based electric scooter will have sharper, more aggressive styling. While iQube comes across as classy and elegant, TVS new electric scooter is likely to get a sporty, maxi-styled profile. It will be positioned primarily as a performance-oriented two-wheeler, as compared to the utilitarian iQube.Some key features that the test mule reveals include an aggressive, muscular front fascia, large instrument panel, step-up seat design and integrated grab rails. Some features such as the rectangular rear view mirrors appear to be borrowed from iQube.TVS Creon ConceptA number of other components could also be borrowed from iQube to reduce development and production cost. Riding posture seems fairly comfortable with low-seat height and ergonomically-placed handlebar. The seat is long and wide and there’s ample space for pillion rider as well.TVS Creon-based electric scooter performanceAs compared to iQube, TVS Creon-based electric scooter is likely to have higher numbers in terms of things like power output, acceleration, top speed, etc. Creon Concept showcased at 2018 Auto Expo was equipped with triple battery packs that generated 12 kW of power. The scooter’s range was claimed at around 80 km and it could accelerate from 0 to 60 kmph in 5.1 seconds.For practical purposes, TVS new electric scooter could utilize a tweaked version of the existing powertrain used with new iQube. Top-spec variant of the new iQube is equipped with dual battery packs. These are IP67 rated against dust and water. The battery packs are enclosed inside high strength aluminium extrusion casing, which ensures effective protection against the elements.TVS Creon ConceptiQube utilizes a 4.4 khW motor that can accelerate from 0-40 kmph in just 4.2 seconds. Range is 145 km on a full charge with dual-battery setup. Top speed is 82 kmph. Charging the batteries from 0 to 80% takes around 5 hours when using the new 650 W charger.Just like iQube, TVS new Creon-based electric scooter will be getting a range of connectivity features via TVS SmartXonnect app. It supports Alexa and offers features such as live vehicle tracking, geo fencing, crash alert, anti-theft alert, navigation assist, last parked location and proactive vehicle diagnosis. More

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      Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Vs CB350RS Vs Jawa Vs Ronin – Specs Compared

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      Hunter 350 is expected to be launched in the price range of Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 1.7 lakh, making it accessible to a larger customer baseNew Royal Enfield Hunter 350Most athletic Royal Enfield bike till date, Hunter 350 is scheduled to debut on August 7th. Ahead of that, details of the bike have been revealed. Only thing left is the price, which will be announced during the launch event. Going by its compact proportions and neo-retro profile, Hunter 350 will primarily target younger audiences. To understand how it fares against rivals, here’s a quick comparison between Royal Enfield Hunter 350 vs. Honda CB350RS vs. TVS Ronin TD vs. Jawa Forty Two.All four bikes have retro styling, as evident in features such as round headlamp, circular rear view mirrors and tear-drop shaped fuel tank. Other than that, these bikes have unique features that ensure a distinctive look and feel. Hunter and Ronin have an advantage here, as these are entirely new models. Freshness in design and the prospect of trying something new can help boost sales. All four bikes are available in a range of attractive colour options. Personalization options are available with Hunter 350 and TVS Ronin.Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Vs CB350RS Vs Jawa Vs RoninHunter uses the 349cc air cooled motor that’s also in use with Classic 350 and Meteor 350. It makes 20.2 hp of max power at 6,100 rpm and 27 Nm of peak torque at 4,000 rpm. TVS Ronin TD has the smallest capacity engine among the four bikes. However, power output is at par with Hunter 350 and Honda CB350RS. Ronin has a 225.9cc air-and-oil cooled motor that generates 20.1 hp at 7,750 rpm and 19.93 Nm at 3,750 rpm.Honda CB350RS is powered by a 348cc, air cooled engine that churns out 20.7 hp at 5,500 rpm and 30 Nm at 3,000 rpm. CB350RS has the highest torque output in the group. Jawa Forty Two has the highest power output among the four bikes at 27.3 hp. It is powered by a 293cc, liquid cooled motor. Torque output is at 27 Nm. While Jawa has a 6-speed gearbox, the other three bikes have 5-speed gearbox. Drive experience could be better with CB350RS and Ronin, as these two bikes have slipper clutch.Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Vs CB350RS Vs Jawa Vs RoninHunter 350 vs. rivals – specsHunter 350 is heaviest in the group with kerb weight of 181 kg. Lightest is TVS Ronin at 160 kg. Since Ronin’s power output is at par with Hunter and CB350RS, the bike will have a higher power-to-weight ratio. CB350RS and Jawa Forty Two have kerb weight of 179 kg and 171 kg, respectively. Ronin has the highest ground clearance of 181 mm whereas CB350RS tops the list in wheelbase at 1,441 mm. Jawa Forty Two can have better handling with the lowest seat height of 765 mm.In terms of suspension, Ronin fares better with USD forks at front. The golden coloured USD forks also work to enhance the bike’s look and feel. Other bikes have standard telescopic forks at the front. At rear, Ronin has monoshock suspension in comparison to twin rear shock absorbers used on other three bikes.From a safety perspective, all four bikes are equipped with dual-channel ABS as standard. CB350RS can be better, as it has traction control. In terms of technology, Ronin takes the lead by offering a comprehensive range of connectivity features. Hunter and CB350RS also have Bluetooth-based connectivity features. Jawa Forty Two is purely old-school and does not have any type of connectivity features.Hunter 350 vs. rivals – pricingHunter 350 prices will be announced at the time of launch. Among the other three bikes, Ronin TD is most affordable at Rs 1.69 lakh – Rs 1.71 lakh. Costliest bike in the group is CB350RS at Rs 2.03 lakh. Jawa Forty Two is available at a starting price of Rs 1.94 lakh. More

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      Top 10 Electric 2W Sales July 2022 – Hero Electric No 1, Ola 5th, Ather 8th

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      Hero Electric topped two wheeler sales charts while Ather was the only electric two wheeler maker to post a YoY de-growthOla Electric ScooterElectric 2W sales increased 231.06 percent YoY while it was also a 5.79 percent MoM growth. Sales in the past month stood at 44,259 units, up from 13,369 units sold in July 2022. This was a 30,890 unit volume growth. MoM sales on the other hand increased from 41,837 units sold in June 2022, a volume growth of 2,422 units. Each of the manufacturers on this list have posted a YoY growth with the exception of Ather. Ampere, Ola, Revolt and Ather posted lower MoM sales.Hero Electric was in a top spot on this list in July 2022. Sales stood at 8,786 units, a 108.05 percent YoY growth from 4,223 units sold in July 2021. The company commands a 19.85 percent share. Sales in June 2022 had stood at 6,504 units, relating to a 35.09 percent MoM de-growth while share percentage had been at 15.55 percent.Top 10 Electric 2W Sales July 2022Okinawa, at No. 2 had its electric two wheeler sales at 8,093 units in July 2022, up 213.68 percent, from 2,580 units sold in July 2021. This was a 5,513 unit volume growth with the company commanding an 18.29 percent share. Sales in June 2022 had stood at 6,944 units, a 16.55 percent MoM growth.Ampere at No. 3 saw its sales at 6,312 units in July 2022, up 860.73 percent from 657 units sold in July 2021. Share percent was at 14.26 in the past month down from 15.63 percent held in June 2022 when sales had been at 6,541 units, a 3.50 percent MoM de-growth. Ampere Electric has seen steady increase in sales and its retail sales in H1 2022 stood at 33,785 units.Top 10 Electric Two Wheelers July 2022 Vs July 2021 (YoY)Next in line was TVS Motor with electric two wheeler sales at 4,244 units in July 2022, up 554.94 percent from 648 units sold in July 2021. TVS Motor in June 2022 had sales of 1,946 units with a 118.09 percent MoM growth.Ola, Bajaj, Revolt, AtherOla Electric had two wheeler sales at 3,802 units in July 2022 with an 8.70 percent share. This was a MoM de-growth of 34.56 percent when compared to 5,886 units sold in June 2022 when share percentage was at 14.07. Ola gears up for launch of Move OS 3 update for the S1 Pro electric scooter which is scheduled to be launched by the Diwali season. It will include a host of hi-tech features, such as hill hold control, hyper charging, proximity unlock, etc.Bajaj Auto electric two wheeler sales increased YoY and MoM to 2,418 units in July 2022. It was a 232.14 percent YoY growth and a 34.48 percent MoM growth from 728 units sold in July 2021 and 1,798 units sold in June 2022. YoY growth was also reported by Revolt with sales of 2,316 units in the past month, up 630.60 percent over 317 units sold in July 2021. MoM sales however, dipped 4.46 percent from 2,424 units sold in June 2022.Top 10 Electric Two Wheelers July 2022 Vs June 2022 (MoM)Ather has seen YoY and MoM de-growth of 28.90 percent and 66.60 percent respectively. Sales which had been at 1,799 units in July 2021 dipped to 1,279 units in July 2022. In June the company had sold 3,829 units. Ather recently launched the Gen 3 450X electric scooter and one of its key rivals is the TVS iQube which was also updated this year.Benling and Okaya have both seen YoY and MoM growth with 1,166 units and 5,793 units sold in July 2022. Okaya is emerging as a leading electric two wheeler maker posting a 198.99 percent YoY growth and 15.72 percent MoM growth from 5,006 units sold in June 2022. More

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      Royal Enfield Hunter 350 Specs, Colours – 114 Kmph Top Speed

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      Royal Enfield Hunter 350 was recently revealed by Sidhartha Lal, CEO and MD of Eicher MotorsNew Royal Enfield Hunter 350Royal Enfield motorcycles are fueled more by nostalgia than petrol. We say this because we also have other retro classic motorcycles in 350cc spectrum itself. But they have never made a dent like Royal Enfield motorcycles have. For example, we have Honda H’ness CB350 which sold 3,308 units in May 2022 while in the same month, Classic 350 sold 29,959 units.Even when we look at 500cc+ motorcycles sales charts, that whole segment is mostly driven by Royal Enfield 650 twins with 84.72% market share in June 2022. While every other big bike combined in India only accounts for just 15%. Such is the power of nostalgia Royal Enfield evokes. Now the British brand is making that nostalgia a little more accessible with the launch of Hunter 350.Royal Enfield Hunter 350 – SpecsHunter 350 will sit at the bottom of Royal Enfield’s portfolio in terms of pricing and also, weight. Hunter 350 is a modern interpretation of a retro bike and all design elements and finishes reflect just that. It gets all the retro bike credentials like round headlights, round taillights, round mirrors, fork gaiters, offset speedo like TVS Ronin, curvy and swoopy fuel tank and more.Adding modern vibes is a blacked-out finish at the engine bay and wheels. Fuel tank and side body panels get contrasting colours though which complement the blacked-out engine bay beautifully. But personally, I’m not too hot for its large ‘Royal’ branding on one side and ‘Enfield’ branding on the other side of the 13-litre fuel tank.Royal Enfield Hunter 350 SpecsBut fret not. This style is specific to one of Metro variant’s colour schemes. We say this because we have spotted another Metro variant that has a chick white fuel tank with not-too-shouty graphics. Royal Enfield is clearly going towards ‘urban roadster’ kinda appeal, but with a set of block pattern tyres, it can also come off as a scrambler-style bike too.Siddhartha Lal recently revealed a sneak peek at Metro variants which had a tripper screen. This will be offered as an option, though. We haven’t yet seen a Retro variant to understand how stripped-down it would look when compared to Metro. Both variants will be revealed at launch on 7th August.Features & PricingRetro gets spoked wheels, drum brake at the back, single-channel ABS, older switchgear, basic speedo, halogen taillights and oval-shaped turn indicators. Both variants get 17” wheels, but Metro will get fatter rubber. Retro weighs 177 kg, while Metro weighs 181 kg and gets alloy wheels, disc brakes (300 mm / 270 mm), dual-channel ABS, LED tail lamp, round turn indicators and a modern switch gear from Meteor. Both get around 150 mm of ground clearance and a friendly 800 mm seat height too.Royal Enfield Hunter 350 SpecsBoth Retro and Metro get 41mm telescopic forks up front and twin shockers at the rear. Retro gets Factory Black and Factory Silver colour options. Metro gets Dapper White and Dapper Ash. And Dapper Grey is exclusive to MIY personalization platform. Royal Enfield Hunter 350 also gets the Metro Rebel variant with Rebel Black, Rebel Blue and Rebel Red (MIY) colour schemes.Royal Enfield Hunter 350 ColoursBoth Retro and Metro get the same J-series 349cc engine making 20.2 bhp and 27 Nm and is mated to a 5-speed gearbox with 114 km/h top speed and 36.2 km/l fuel efficiency. In terms of pricing, it is likely to hit the Rs. 1.3 to 1.5 lakh bracket which would make it the most accessible Royal Enfield in terms of price and weight. When launched, it will compete with TVS Ronin, Jawa 42, upcoming Bajaj-Triumph bike and Honda CB350 which is expected to get a Brigade variant soon. More