Royal Enfield announced that it will begin motorcycle assembly in Argentina in partnership with Grupo Simpa, Royal Enfield's local distributor in the country since 2019. This marks the first time in the company's modern history that motorcycles will be assembled and produced outside its manufacturing facilities in Chennai, India.
APB Corp, Tokyo (Hideaki Horie - the man behind development of the Nissan Leaf), has invented a new kind of battery that is said to be 90% cheaper to produce than standard lithium-ion batteries - and potentially much safer - by replacing the basic components of a standard Li-ion battery in order to speed up and simplify the manufacturing process. "Manufacturing the new batteries is significantly simplified by replacing the metal-lined electrodes and liquid electrolytes typically found within Li-ion units with a resin construction."
Shell Oil and Ducati have deepened their partnership, expanding Shell Advance Ducati oil distribution and renewing their engine oil first fill deal for another three years in the Italian and Thailand production plants. Shell Advance Ducati co-branded oil (so far restricted to the Italian and North American markets) will also now become available in Germany, France and the UK. Available for aftermarket oil changes in Ducati road bikes, this bespoke blend uses Shell’s proprietary PurePlus technology.
UK based premium aftermarket motorcycle exhaust manufacturer Max Torque Cans, trading as MTC Exhausts, has further expanded with the acquisition of Quill Performance Exhausts. The Quill brand joins the original Max Torque Cans line-up, established in 2001, and Carbon Can Company, which MTC took over in 2017.
In its home market, Indian manufacturer Royal Enfield (Eicher Motors) has introduced a mobile servicing option that riders can book via their nearest dealership for 'at home' scheduled maintenance servicing. For its "Service on Wheels" the company has built a fleet of 800 bikes equipped with all the tools, service items and consumables that trained and certified dealer based mobile technicians will need for the most common interval services and small repairs.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, B&B, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MNW, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com
