Wk 6 2025 – We Talk to Dust Moto; Livewire and Vmoto Report Dismal Numbers; Ola Fakes Tech; Hero Reshapes Top-Deck

…and thank god for that.

Dust Moto looks at motocross from a lifestyle lens. It doesn’t want to go low – the Sur-Rons and Talarias can breathe. It doesn’t want to go high – Stark can wait. Dust wants to make an excellent motocross bike that is good-looking and well-finished, with high-quality components. In doing so, they want to maintain a high dose of off-the-shelf components, do things quickly, and do them at an optimized cost to market.

We sat down with Colin over an interview that stretched beyond an hour. The edited version is live on InsightEV and has a super long format, like with most of our interviews. You may need a good 25 minutes and a cup of coffee, but it’s gold, and something that all electric startups and their investors should do a deep read of.

Dust Moto: Mid is not Mediocre – InsightEV

Off-road lends beautifully to electrification, but there may be different ways of targeting the market – from urban/street for the kids to cut-throat sports for the big boys and everything in between. We sat down with Colin Godby, CEO-Dust Moto, who is looking at motocross from the lifestyle lens.

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Tough being A-Live

Livewire’s full-year unit sales could not cross the 2023 numbers, even as cost-cutting measures and a high loss base meant that the Milwaukee-based Harley offshoot could improve on its losses. It needs new and smaller products. It needs a huge cultural shift in America. It needs a miracle.

Tough Being A-Live – InsightEV

Livewire's full-year unit sales could not cross the 2023 numbers even as cost-cutting measures and a high loss base meant that the Milwaukee-based Harley offshoot could improve on its losses. It needs new and smaller products. It needs a huge cultural shift in America. It needs a miracle.

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Ola and its misrepresentations

Marketing is critical for technology creation, and India-based Ola Electric has always been good at it. Taking market leadership in electric scooters in an ultra-competitive market is no easy feat. However, we have noticed that their marketing hyperbole often makes technology claims that simply do not exist. In the last two weeks, they have claimed Brake-by-wire and achieving ABS through motor retardation, claims that do not measure up to reality.

Why is Ola Misrepresenting Tech? – InsightEV

Marketing is critical for technology creation. Without taking new tech to the masses, one cannot continue creating. Pathbreaking innovations – from Damon's hyper-optimized monocoques to Verge's Donut motor- often take time to reach the mass level. That limits their impact.

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Ola Electric Updates its Scooter Portfolio – InsightEV

The company launched what it says is the Gen-3 of its hardware and software platform that underpins the Ola S1 scooter range. However, it seems that the company has changed the definition of Gen-3 from the one that it had shared during its quarterly results on Nov 08, 2024

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Hero Shocks in a Top-Deck Reshuffle

India-based Hero MotoCorp, the second-largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world, announced the removal of its CEO and CBO. They also separated the underperforming EV business units. Hero is separating its EV & Emerging Mobility Business Unit (EMBU) into a fully independent entity. The promoter-chairman will now mentor the EV unit personally.

Hero Separates Electric Business in Top Deck Upheaval – InsightEV

India-based Hero MotoCorp, the second-largest two-wheeler manufacturer in the world, announced a management reshuffle yesterday evening. The CEO and CBO have been replaced. Most importantly, Hero is separating its EV & Emerging Mobility Business Unit (EMBU) into a fully independent entity.

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Vmoto Remains Under Stress

The ASX-listed (and soon-to-be delisted) Vmoto released its annual sales numbers for 2024, down 33% over 2023. Sales continue to fall in China and the rest of the world, even as the company stresses its positive cash flows and strong balance sheet, and sales are expected to recover in the near term.

Vmoto Remains Under Stress – InsightEV

The company's full-year sales numbers for 2024 are down 33% over 2023. Sales continue to fall in China and the rest of the world, even as the company stresses its positive cash flows and strong balance sheet and sales recovering in the near term horizon.

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That’s a wrap for today. This newsletter will be back next Friday. The posts on the website are more frequent. Also, there is a new X in town.