Electric scooters and motorcycles do not prove themselves – bikerbuys.com
Small electric scooters run quite well. But stronger scooters and, above all, motorcycles have so far hardly been able to establish themselves on the market. An overview from BMW to Vespa;
The proportion of electrically powered cars is still modest, but the Federal Motor Transport Authority is registering significant growth rates. Not only with plug-in hybrids, but also with fully electric vehicles; the situation for two-wheelers, where hybrids are unknown for technical reasons and will remain so, is different and, depending on the segment, very different. Whether the government subsidies that are not offered for two-wheelers are a cause of the meager demand may or may not be the case; the success of electric bicycles impressively demonstrates that new technologies can find their way into the fast lane when they appear to be beneficial to the user. Because the range is not a decisive criterion in short-haul urban traffic, Motorcycles are still a rarity on the streets. An overview:
Germany’s two-wheeler market is experiencing a special boom in the Corona year 2020: Apparently, many are investing their money not invested in long-distance travel in new motorcycles or scooters. In addition, the driving license law that was modified at the end of last year – class B owners can drive 125cc with manageable effort and without an examination – has led to an extremely increased demand for light motorcycles and scooters. What role the corona effect plays here cannot be clearly defined; for quite a few employees, full buses and trains are much less attractive than they used to be. However: The electric two-wheelers that require registration can only be used to a very limited extent. In the first half of 2020, the European two-wheel manufacturers and importers association ACEM recorded an electric share of 22.3 percent (previous year 21.2 percent) for mopeds, which are limited to 45 km / h, while electric vehicles among motorcycles only account for 1.7 percent (Previous year 1.0 percent). But the industry is tackling it anyway: Peugeot has just announced that the entire fleet of 50 cc scooters will be electrified. BMW announced a long time ago that no new petrol scooters would be developed.
Limited range and high price
Especially with machines with an output of 48 HP (35 kW) upwards, i.e. real motorcycles, the consumer only rarely uses an electric drive. The extremely limited range, the high price, and the mess of charging make the few available models not particularly attractive. Models from the former start-up Zero Motorcycles from California are still most frequently sold in Germany: Sales in this country rose in the first eight months of this year from 150 in the previous year to 250; The 67 percent increase is due not least to the fact that the manufacturer also has a version with 11 kW in its range.
The northern Italian brand Energica has also been on the market for a few years with the current three models Ego, Eva, and EsseEsse9, all of which are at least 80 kW and have a top speed of 200 km / h. With an Energica, only those who save on the battery are left with less than 20,000 euros. Energica does not mention the number of units. Another rarity is Harley-Davidson’s Livewire, which has been available since the beginning of the year and is currently the only electric motorcycle from a large-scale manufacturer. The entrance fee to the exclusive club is around 33,000 euros, which is one of the reasons why the model is more of a technical lighthouse project than one with which large sales can be made.
Nothing for the alpine tour
Anyone who wants to ride a full-fledged electric motorcycle today and enjoy the impressive driving dynamics of this species shouldn’t have any major trips in mind. The practice ranges are around 150 kilometers, with a lot of feeling on the power regulator you can go 200 kilometers. Which is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future; “From today’s perspective, an electric GS is inconceivable,” says Markus Schramm, Head of BMW Motorrad. Even in ten years, no model can manage 500 joyfully completed alpine kilometers a day.
Of course, the Bavarians have an electric concept bike with the DC Roadster. Will it soon become a production motorcycle? BMW has just had various model names that begin with “DC” and range from 01 to 09 protected. There are also two more, namely CE 02 and CE 04, which could mean that the fully-electric BMW scooter C Evolution, which has been on the market since 2014, with 19 kW continuous and 35 kW peak power and a range of 160 kilometers will soon be available for around 15,000 euros CE 04 starts for the second career. Perhaps the much smaller but highly networked small scooter presented as Concept Link in 2017 will be launched as the CE 02.
The electric Vespa does not come close to its petrol sister
The beauty among scooters is undoubtedly the electric Vespa Elettrica, available as a 45 or 70 km / h version. The eternally young lady offers a practice range of around 70 kilometers, which can be achieved after four hours of charging at the household socket. At 6220 or 6520 euros, the electric wasp is not a cheap pleasure, for the same money you can get the 24 hp Vespa 300 with a petrol engine. It sells like sliced bread and is the second most popular two-wheeler sold in Germany after the BMW GS. Your electric sister does not appear in the success statistics of the Italians.
