Opinion: Will Automakers Save The Electric Motorcycle?

It’s Time for the Big Boys To Engage

The electric motorcycle industry was pioneered by inventors and engineers who integrated electric powertrains with existing motorcycle designs and components. Their vision helped show the motorcycle community their enjoyment didn’t have to be tied to the traditional power source.

Globally, the transportation industry is shifting to cleaner technologies to power their vehicles, but it comes with an added cost. From development to production, EVs are more energy and resource intensive than their petroleum consuming counterparts.

An evolution in energy storage will be necessary to make electric motorcycles practical for the average rider, but innovation is a costly, long game, requiring substantial budgets and even broader visions, not exactly the tools available to emerging companies. As motorcycle markets worldwide are showing paltry growth, clean technologies often represent an investment many traditional manufacturers struggle to fit into their already tightening budgets.

Big Allies Offer Big Hope

The auto industry could be perfectly suited to carry the technology to the next stage. Three major car companies also make motorcycles, and they’re downright profitable at doing so. The automotive divisions of Honda, BMW and VW’s Audi (which owns the Ducati brand) bring in a three-to-eight percent profit margin compared to their motorcycle operations at 10-14 percent.

Based on size alone, Honda is in a position to be a clean technology leader. Having invested heavily, not only in battery electric vehicles, but also hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV), they have been acquiring FCEV motorcycle patents for more than a decade. In a much publicized filing from March 2017, we got a glimpse at a potential FCEV with streetfighter styling, although the project has been fairly quiet since then. A recent consortium with the other “big four” Japanese motorcycle manufacturers to standardize replaceable batteries, could indicate their primary focus remains on “traditional” electric motorcycles, however Honda has the capital to keep quite a few irons in the fire.

The Power to Move Forward

Both Honda and BMW have recently signed large deals with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. (CATL), China’s leading battery manufacturer, pointing to at least a short-term solution to the challenge of sourcing energy storage.

BMW made its EV intentions known earlier this year with the announcement of the Vision DC Roadster. However, the battery was one element of the project that was not immediately clear–perhaps a CATL battery will make it a real contender. If you think the average electric motorcycle convert is concerned about range, BMW’s touring demographic will especially need to see some large numbers before trading the pump for the plug.

VW Bets On Themselves

While BMW and Honda are motorcycle companies who became car companies, Volkswagen is a car company who always wanted to own a motorcycle company. Ducati had been in its sights for many years before being purchased in 2012 through Audi subsidiary Lamborghini–providing the struggling Italian brand with a strong financial backing, and even more valuable, technological capital.

Volkswagen is investing significantly in the future of electric vehicles for its companies. Taking battery production in-house to minimize supplier dependence, while also giving its engineers greater flexibility in design. These are great signs for a potential Ducati entry into the electric market–we know they can build a beautiful bike, and with VW EV technology, it could make for a potent combination.

Critical Solutions

The most prominent criticisms of electric motorcycles center around the battery, and let’s be honest, most of them are pretty valid. Battery efficiency has improved exponentially as the technology has been refined, and we’re still reasonably early in this evolution. It would seem reasonable to expect this trend to continue, particularly as the best engineering minds in transportation become dedicated to the task.