Closer look at Royal Enfield’s first electric motorcycle
Royal Enfield has just revealed its first-ever electric motorcycle, known as the Him-E. The bike was unveiled at the 2023 EICMA Milan Motorcycle Show, where Electrek got an up-close look at the new model ahead of its unclear production path.
The Indian motorcycle company Royal Enfield is better known for its classic style and enduring performance, not its progressive or high-tech design. The company has a reputation for building sturdy machines but that tend to lag a decade (or a few) behind in the technology department. In fact, Royal Enfield is one of the oldest motorcycle brands in continuous production. Founded in 1901 in England, the company has a storied history and has cultivated a loyal following among motorcycle enthusiasts.
The company has a tendency to stick to what works well, so it comes as no surprise that it’s taken a few more years than others to finally see an electric model.
The Royal Enfield Him-E is somewhat based on the brand’s Himalayan 450 adventure bike, swapping out the pistons and fuel system for a mid-mounted electric motor and battery.
The new electric motorcycle isn’t slated for production yet, at least not in its current form. Instead, Royal Enfield is using it as a test bed to prove its electric powertrain designs that will presumably work their way onto an upcoming electric motorcycle.
In fact, we don’t exactly have many hard specs on the bike. Figures such as power, battery capacity, torque, speed, range, and just about anything else measured in numerals are still followed by a “TBD”.
Instead, we will have to make do with what we can learn from checking out the model on display. The bike has obviously been undergoing real-world testing, as evidenced by the front-heavy coating of mud and other detritus from the company’s off-road rides. But what we don’t see upfront is any form of radiator, meaning this is likely an air-cooled model, at least for now. That’s not surprising, as even the company’s ICE bikes have largely been air-cooled until recent years, bucking much of the industry’s trend towards liquid cooling. There are a few hoses wrapping around the front of the bike, but without an obvious radiator or ducting leading to one, it’s hard to say that they’re for active coolant and not just for cable management on this workhorse of a test bed.
The battery box looks to be a structural element, similar to the way the LiveWire Del Mar and other electric motorcycles use their battery-as-a-frame design to cut down on weight and complexity, as well as offer multiple models on the same electric motorcycle platform.
There also appears to be a shifter mounted on the left side tied into a gearbox, which is a rare but not unheard-of option on electric motorcycles. Because electric motorcycles are torquey enough to handle low-speed crawling and high-speed racing all in a single gear, very few have employed the added complexity of a gearbox. The rare cases that have seen manual gearboxes on electric motorcycles are usually when they’ve been added more for enjoyment than pure performance, especially when targeting traditional ICE riders who consider the old-fashioned chore of shifting to be part of the riding experience.
In true adventure bike style, the Him-E sports a chain-driving rear end, though that’s likely to add significant noise compared to the more common belt drives found on most electric motorcycles these days. Without exhaust or engine noise to cover it, chains are usually the loudest part of electric motorcycles, which has led to many manufacturers switching to belt drives.
What else do you see in the Royal Enfield Him-E prototype? Or what are you hoping to see in the final version that makes it to production? Let’s hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
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Rivian has posted a job listing for a steering engineer, specifically mentioning work on a future steer-by-wire system for the company.
Steer-by-wire is an automotive concept that has been around for a long time, but hasn’t yet reached mass adoption. The idea is to replace (or supplement) mechanical linkages between the steering wheel and the wheels with electronic actuators instead.
There are a number of potential benefits to this, like allowing more customizability or adaptability to a steering system, reducing mechanical complexity, or adding speed-sensitive variable steering ratios.
Although there are also disadvantages, like a reduction in steering feel (although, since most cars are moving to electronic power steering, that was already gone anyway).
But few cars have implemented steer-by-wire systems, or at least not fully committed to them, given that mechanical steering racks are a relatively solved problem and the general inertia of the car industry which would rather stick with a solution they know than switch to something better (haven’t we here, at this EV publication, heard *that* one before…). There’s also the matter of regulations, which have often been written to require mechanical steering systems, and may need updating to allow for steer by wire.
But, steer by wire made it into mass production with the release of the Tesla Cybertruck. This was big news when Tesla committed to this – at the time, it was the only thing on the road to exclusively use a steer by wire system, though there are other cars with partial steer by wire (for example, mechanical front wheel steering, and steer by wire rear-wheel steering).
But it seems to have opened the floodgates, as a number of other companies are working on or have since released steer by wire systems (Lexus, for example).
And now, it looks like Rivian is one of those companies – though we don’t know if it’s for the front or rear.
The company posted a job listing for “Sr. Staff Technical Program Manager, Steering Actuator System,” based at its Irvine, CA headquarters (spotted by Rivianforums). This wouldn’t be so exceptional, except that the job posting also specifically points out that “you’ll have full cradle-to-grave ownership of the SBW subsystem.”
So – we know they’re working on steer by wire, to some extent.
But a few other EVs, particularly large EVs like the Rivian R1 platform is, use steer by wire just for the rear wheels – for example the Hummer EV and Rolls-Royce Spectre. These systems are particularly helpful for giant vehicles, because it allows them to be more nimble and make turns that otherwise would require a lot more… negotiation in a giant land yacht.
So it’s possible that Rivian is only working on rear wheel steer by wire here, but we’d like to think there’s a chance it’s working on steer by wire for the full vehicle.
We also don’t know if this would show up on all of Rivian’s vehicles, or only on certain models – the R2 and R3 are in development, and the R1 just got a big refresh. But, perhaps even more interestingly (and very speculatively), VW has invested heavily in Rivian for technology help, so we wonder if we might end up seeing this in VW group vehicles, or Scout vehicles eventually…
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Hyundai’s electric sports car just got a whole lot cheaper. The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N now costs $150 less per month to lease after another unexpected price cut.
How much is it to lease the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N?
The new and improved 2025 IONIQ 5 is coming off its best US sales month yet in July, but that isn’t stopping Hyundai from wanting more.
After Hyundai cut lease prices on all trims last month to as low as $179 per month, it’s now offering even more savings.
The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 N is now listed for lease at just $549 per month. The offer is for 36 months, with $3,999 due at signing. At an effective monthly rate of $660, Hyundai’s EV is $150 cheaper a month than it was in July.
Hyundai is currently offering some of the best deals on electric cars, with the 2025 IONIQ 5 SE Standard Range listed for lease at just $179 per month.
The Standard Range model has a driving range of 245 miles. If you’re looking for more, the Extended
Range SE, with a range of 318 miles, is available to lease from $199 per month.
You can even lease the rugged new XRT trim right now for under $300 a month. All deals are for 24 months with $3,999 due at signing and end on September 2
| 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 Trim | EV Powertrain | Driving Range (miles) | Starting Price* | Monthly lease price July 2025 |
| IONIQ 5 SE RWD Standard Range | 168-horsepower rear motor | 245 | $42,500 | $179 |
| IONIQ 5 SE RWD | 225-horsepower rear motor | 318 | $46,550 | $199 |
| IONIQ 5 SEL RWD | 225-horsepower rear motor | 318 | $49,500 | $209 |
| IONIQ 5 Limited RWD | 225-horsepower rear motor | 318 | $54,200 | $309 |
| IONIQ 5 SE Dual Motor AWD | 320-horsepower dual motor | 290 | $50,050 | $249 |
| IONIQ 5 SEL Dual Motor AWD | 320-horsepower dual motor | 290 | $53,000 | $259 |
| IONIQ 5 XRT Dual Motor AWD | 320 horsepower dual motor | 259 | $55,400 | $359 |
| IONIQ 5 Limited Dual Motor AWD | 320-horsepower dual motor | 269 | $58,100 | $299 |
| IONIQ 5 N Dual Motor AWD | Up to 601-horsepower dual motor |
221 | $66,200 | $549 |
With the $7,500 EV tax set to expire at the end of September, Hyundai is offering savings across its entire electric car lineup.
Even Hyundai’s new three-row electric SUV is surprisingly affordable. The 2026 INIQ 9 is listed with monthly lease prices as low as $419 per month.
Looking to test drive one out for yourself? We can help you get started. You can use our link to find deals on the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 at a dealer near you (trusted affiliate link).
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In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Elon Musk getting a sweet $26 billion payday from Tesla while the company gets flooded with lawsuits and Dojo is dead.
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