Royal Enfield parent Eicher Motors has launched the first product from a new joint-venture relationship with US powersports manufacturer Polaris Industries.
Clearly drawing on the latter’s extensive side-by-side ATV expertise, Eicher’s Multix doubles as either a five-seater microcar or light commercial vehicle with a pick-up rear end. Powered by a “frugal” 511cc diesel motor delivering about 9.5bhp, the Multix is targeted at India’s vast semi-urban and rural small-business community.
A key sales feature is its 3kW generator take-off point, capable of providing electricity to light up a small house for up to 10 hours from a 12-litre tankful of fuel or run workshop machinery. This is particularly important in the Indian countryside, where mains electricity supplies are at best intermittent and often completely non-existent.
Eicher has invested £34.6m in developing the Multix and building a new factory to produce it in the northern state of Rajasthan, currently with a 60,000-unit annual capacity. Considering both Eicher and Polaris also make motorcycles, further fruits of the JV may potentially involve Indian or Victory technology appearing in Royal Enfield bikes.