Brands
Royal Enfield gears up for a gear assault at Motoverse
GOA: Royal Enfield is pushing hard into the riding-gear game. At Motoverse 2025, the century-old bikemaker rolled out a slew of new products that signal serious ambition: fresh helmets with graphic flair, upgraded Bluetooth gadgetry and limited-edition festival collectibles that blur the line between merchandise and cultural artefact.
The Comic Helmet leads the charge. A full-face model decked out in punchy graphics, it marries high-impact protection with personality. Multiple vents and improved airflow mean riders needn’t sacrifice comfort for style. It’s a direct shot at the growing tribe of enthusiasts who reject the grey compromise between safety and self-expression.
Close behind comes the Motowave X2, a refreshed Bluetooth communication unit that ditches gimmickry for utility. Longer battery life, cleaner audio and simplified controls make it a pragmatist’s choice for navigation, calls and music on the road. The engineering philosophy is pure Royal Enfield: solve real problems without the theatre.
Collectors and gear heads also got their moment. The 1:12 Classic Scale Models picked up new colourways, whilst bookings reopened for the 1:3 variant in three fresh shades. Precision-crafted and cult favourites, these miniatures have become totems of Royal Enfield’s identity as something more than a mere motorcycle manufacturer—a cultural phenomenon on two wheels.
Rounding out the haul: the Motoverse Collection, a limited-edition apparel and accessories capsule exclusive to the 2025 festival. Wearable memorabilia rooted in the event itself, it captures Motoverse’s visual language and lets attendees carry a piece of the mood home.
Chief commercial officer at Royal Enfield, Yadvinder Singh Guleria, said “Motoverse remains a crucible of ideas shaped by the riding community.” The products, he insisted, are practical and durable whilst “expressive enough to let riders signal who they are.”
The gear is available now at the Motoshop zone through the end of Motoverse 2025, with a wider rollout across Royal Enfield stores and online platforms in the weeks ahead. At over 100 years old, Royal Enfield shows no sign of losing pace.
Brands
Uber launches hotel bookings feature in partnership with Expedia
From hotel bookings to room service at your door, the ride-hailing giant is making its boldest push yet into everyday life
CALIFORNIA: Uber is done being just a taxi app. At its annual GO-GET product event, the world’s leading mobility and delivery platform unveiled a sweeping set of new features designed to plant itself at the centre of how people travel, eat and shop, hotel bookings included.
The headline move is a partnership with Expedia Group that lets Uber users in the United States book hotels directly within the Uber app, with access to a catalogue that will eventually grow to more than 700,000 properties worldwide. Uber One members get 10 per cent back in Uber One credits on all hotel bookings and savings of at least 20 per cent on a rolling list of more than 10,000 hotels globally. Vacation rentals from Vrbo, Expedia Group’s home-rental brand, will be added later this year. The partnership is expected to expand beyond the United States. From June, Uber rides will also be integrated directly into the Expedia app, with push notifications sent to travellers ahead of hotel check-in to book discounted Uber rides for the duration of their stay.
Dara Khosrowshahi, chief executive of Uber, framed the expansion in terms of the modern condition. “Uber is becoming an app for everything, helping people go, get, and now travel all in one place,” he said. “We’re all living through a moment of real cognitive overload: too many apps, too many decisions, too much noise. At the end of the day, our job is to help people reclaim their time, spending less of it managing the logistics of life and more of it actually living.”
Ariane Gorin, chief executive of Expedia Group, struck a similarly ambitious note. “Travel should feel effortless, and this partnership gets us one step closer to offering a seamless traveller experience,” she said. “By connecting our two-sided marketplace with Uber, we’re bringing Uber rides directly into the Expedia app and Expedia Group’s lodging inventory into the Uber app through our Rapid API technology. Together, we’re helping travellers spend less time planning and more time enjoying the journey.”
Beyond hotels, the product announcements come thick and fast. Travel Mode, available within both the Uber and Uber Eats apps, offers curated recommendations on local favourites, tourist destinations, OpenTable restaurant reservations and on-demand delivery to hotel rooms. Uber One International means the membership programme now works globally, allowing members to earn credits on rides abroad that can be redeemed once back home. A new Shop for Me feature lets users request items from any store, even those not listed on the app. Eats for the Way allows riders in select cities booking an Uber Black or Uber Black SUV to have a drink or snack waiting for them in the car. Voice Bookings, powered by artificial intelligence, lets users book a ride conversationally, without touching their phone. And a redesigned One Search bar consolidates results for places, food and items across the entire Uber platform in a single query.
Uber has now logged more than 72 billion trips since it launched in 2010. The question it is now answering is what comes after the ride. The answer, apparently, is everything else. Whether users want a hotel in Paris, a coffee in the back of a car or a snake plant from the local garden centre, Uber would very much like to be the one to provide it. The app economy’s land grab has a new front-runner.
NOTE: The image used is AI generated and only for representational purposes.
