Siddhartha Lal reappointed by board as Eicher MD: Shareholders to take final call

Recently, Eicher Motors shareholders voted down the re-appointment of Siddhartha Lal as managing director. This happened because of the 10 percent salary hike that Siddhartha had proposed. The hike demand exceeded the revenue and profit growth last year. The past year has not been good for the automotive industry because of the pandemic. Now, after two days, the board has decided to re-appoint Siddhartha as managing director with effect from May 1, 2021. The shareholders will be approving the decision through a postal ballot.

“Given the background of actual remuneration paid to the MD in preceding years, the Board has now approved a revised remuneration structure for the post, with a maximum cap of 1.5 per cent of profits as per Section 198 of the Companies Act,” Eicher Motors said in a filing. Eicher Motors is the parent company of Royal Enfield.

Royal Enfield working on new launches

Also read: Royal Enfield Classic 650: What it”ll look like

Royal Enfield is working on a slew of launches. The manufacturer said that they will be launching a new motorcycle every quarter for the next 7 years. So, they will be introducing 28 new models.

Classic 350

The first launch from Royal Enfield will be the new generation of the Classic 350. It is expected to launch on 27th August or on the 31st August. It will be based on a new J-platform that debuted with the Meteor 350. The engine will also be shared with the Meteor 350. So, it will be a 349-cc, air-cooled, single-cylinder petrol engine that puts out 20.4 PS of max power and a peak torque output of 27 Nm. It will be mated to a 5-speed gearbox.

The motorcycle looks very similar to the previous generation but that is intentional. Royal Enfield does not want to lose the retro charm with the new generation. It will come with the Tripper Navigation module that we first saw on the Meteor 350 and now it comes with the Himalayan too. It shows turn by turn navigation on a small screen placed beside the speedometer.

Scram 411

Royal Enfield is also working on a scrambler version of the Himalayan. They will be modifying the Himalayan to make it look like a scrambler. It will miss out on a front windshield, will get a different headlamp cowl, there will be no frame mounted on the fuel tank and it will come with tank shrouds. The front 21-inch wheel will be replaced with a smaller unit to make the motorcycle more road-friendly. The engine will stay the same as the Himalayan. So, it will be a 411 cc, air-oil cooled, single-cylinder engine that produces 24.3 bhp of max power and a peak torque output of 32 Nm. It is mated to a 5-speed gearbox.

Hunter

The manufacturer is working on a roadster motorcycle for their line-up too. It looks smaller than the rest of the motorcycles and it is the most modern-looking Royal Enfield. The engine looks like it is the same unit as the Meteor 350. It is being said that the motorcycle could be called Hunter but Royal Enfield will not be using that name.

New 650 cc motorcycles

Royal Enfield will also be expanding their 650 cc platform. We have seen a cruiser based 650 cc motorcycle which is expected to sit above the Interceptor and Continental GT. A Classic 650 was also spied which is expected to be the most affordable 650 cc motorcycle from the manufacturer.

Source

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