New Upcoming Royal Enfield 250cc Bike Could Be Cheaper Than The Hunter 350

Royal Enfield is working on a 250cc bike, under the manufacturer’s new ‘V’-platform. It is likely to feature a smaller version of the 350cc J-series engine found in the Royal Enfield Classic 350, Bullet 350, Meteor 350, and Hunter 350. It will be the most affordable Royal Enfield bike

Quick News Highlights:

- The 250cc engine may be a downsized version of the 350cc J-series engine
- Likely to be priced at around Rs 1.1 lakh - 1.2 lakh (ex-showroom), it will be the cheapest Royal Enfield bike in India.
- Launch is planned sometime in between 2026-27.

According to a recent news report, Royal Enfield is working on a new 250cc bike, which will likely be the cheapest Royal Enfield bike. The new bike platform is codenamed ‘V’ and could feature a smaller version of the 350cc J-series engine to keep the price competitive.  

The upcoming 250cc Royal Enfield bike will likely be an urban commuter and not a cruiser as it will be targeted at first-time Royal Enfield bike buyers, and also for those who are new to riding bikes. Its 250cc V-platform engine will likely have a simple air-cooling and if we are lucky, a counter-balancer too. This will allow several parts to be shared with the existing J-series bikes and thus will also help reduce the manufacturing costs. 

What Could Be The Upcoming 250cc Royal Enfield Bike Price?

The upcoming 250cc Royal Enfield bike will be cheaper than the Hunter 350, which costs Rs 1,49,900, and has remained the same ever since its launch in 2022. It is expected to be priced somewhere between Rs 1.1 to 1.2 lakh (both prices ex-showroom) mark, which would make it the cheapest 250cc bike in India. However, with this expected pricing, the bike will target the market share of the 160cc bike segment, which is currently populated by TVS Apache, Bajaj Pulsar, Yamaha FZ, Hero Xtreme, and Suzuki Gixxer range. The report further reveals that the bike could be launched sometime between 2026 and 2027.

Royal Enfield 250cc Bike Development History:

In 2019, Siddharth Lal, CEO & Managing Director of Eicher Motors, in an interview, said that Royal Enfield doesn’t have any plans to go below the 250cc category. But a lot has changed since then, with the COVID pandemic and BS6 transition, all resulting in increasing product costs. Nowadays, a typical premium 125cc sporty commuter costs around Rs 1 lakh, which is what a typical 150cc bike used to cost a few years ago. Hence, Royal Enfield saw the need for a product that slots below the 350cc segment, which will help in bringing the entry price point down considerably. 

While the rumours of the project surfaced back in 2019, it was postponed in 2020 as Royal Enfield wanted to focus on the 350cc J-series platform first. Now, after the success of the J-series engine on the Royal Enfield Classic 350, Bullet 350, Meteor 350 and Hunter 350, the manufacturer seems ready to work on its pending projects, including this one.

Moreover, Royal Enfield is also planning to explore the possibilities of a hybrid technology with this engine. That said, it is still studying its viability, so an actual product launch is still quite some time away, if at all it happens. That said, the upcoming 250cc Royal Enfield bike will go a long way in improving the sales of the brand as it will cater to a brand new segment (for the brand), bringing in lots of new customers.

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