Europeans colonized the world long ago, and their cultural influence still reverberates. In the automotive sense, the continent is the hotspot of automotive design and chassis engineering. But something is amiss lately. China's rise is making Europe irrelevant.
Yesterday, India-based Ultraviolette revealed two upcoming products - Tesseract and Shockwave - and drew a roadmap for its intended future lineup. We see not just the new products, but also a startup willing to embark on a new business strategy, bits and pieces of which make us uncomfortable.
There are not too many publicly traded E2W and electric light mobility players. The ones that are have mostly been struggling. We last checked their health eight months back. Now, we check on them again and realize that things have taken a downturn for the worse.
At yesterday's court hearing, KTM creditors have accepted a restructuring plan proposed by the board. As part of the plan, nearly EUR 548m would be received by the creditors by end-May. India-based Bajaj Auto is bringing some of the money but there remains a larger investor yet to be named.
The company's overall revenue were down amidst slowly increasing battery swapping revenues getting pulverised by steadily declining scooter sales. A worsening product mix and an enhanced focus on commercial energy storage opportunities were some key takeaways from the annual results.
The Europe-focused Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium (SBMC) was formed in September 2021 by Honda, Yamaha, KTM, and Piaggio. However, little has moved three years later, and the two Japanese founders have left. Is there a future for SBMC (and battery-swapping consortiums in general)?
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.
Late-entrant Honda shows no urgency in its India E2W play. Its Go-To-Market is linked with its battery-swapping network rollout. The problem is that three years after the start of the pilot, the Honda e-swap has reached only 1% of the population. Are they serious about India's E2W market?
UBCO was unique, and so was the two-wheel-drive motorcycle that they made. The receivership is a stark reminder of the perils of going too niche in a global E2W market that is yet to mature to create space for small players.
Pierer Mobility AG (KTM) has filed for judicial restructuring, a step away from bankruptcy. Sales is slow, marketshare is down, and they are sitting at manhy months of inventory. In the bigger picture, it indicates how fragile the European two-wheeler industry is.
On the face of it, Royal Enfield, the India-based British heritage ICE brand, should be the last brand to do an electric motorcycle. Yet, here they are with the Flying Flea, and electric motorcycles seem important to them. It is a need, not a luxury
Gogoro plunged into a crisis due to the Taiwanese government's enquiry into its claimed local sourcing of motor controllers on the Viva model. The Founder-CEO has resigned...
As ICE motorcycles embrace electronics, sensors, and rider-aids, it is becoming easier for new riders to handle speed. The various automatic transmissions entering the market further dumb down motorcycles. The motorcycling world may not realise but they are taking ICE closer to EVs
Often, in the haste to go electric, we force-fit electric mobility to the ecosystem. However, it should be the other way around, and the ecosystem should dictate the suitability of electric mobility. Once we do things the right way, Africa emerges as an unexpected shining star for E2Ws
The incumbents are reluctant and everyone else is not getting anywhere with large lifestyle electric motorcycles? What makes the equation so impossible? Is it just technology challenges compounded by half-hearted efforts or are we trying to force fit things before the core technology matures?
Vmoto reports a 32.5% dip in vehicle sales in FY 2024 and a 15.2% revenue decline. This was a year of major restructuring and expansion at the company as they head to an ASX delisting. However, the notice from a minority shareholder is a significant concern.
Vmoto reports a 32.5% dip in vehicle sales in FY 2024 and a 15.2% revenue decline. This was a year of major restructuring and expansion at the company as they head to an ASX delisting. However, the notice from a minority shareholder is a significant concern.
A net income of USD 32.5 million took us by surprise, considering that this is a company that is not yet making any significant revenue, if at all. In the end, the financial statement reveals less and hides more.
The company's overall revenue were down amidst slowly increasing battery swapping revenues getting pulverised by steadily declining scooter sales. A worsening product mix and an enhanced focus on commercial energy storage opportunities were some key takeaways from the annual results.
Data released by ACEM indicates that the penetration of electric two-wheelers declined for the first time since 2019.
Zapp Electric, the UK-based, Thailand-manufactured, Nasdaq-listed manufacturer of the i300 super-scooter, has finally started turning revenue as it starts sales in Thailand and the UK. Global markets will follow soon.
At yesterday's court hearing, KTM creditors have accepted a restructuring plan proposed by the board. As part of the plan, nearly EUR 548m would be received by the creditors by end-May. India-based Bajaj Auto is bringing some of the money but there remains a larger investor yet to be named.
The E2W startup scene in Indonesia is slow, with penetration levels still at <2%. Most volumes are cornered by traders who import Chinese IP, cheap scooters. However, we saw plenty of startup action at the Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS)
Gogoro plunged into a crisis due to the Taiwanese government's enquiry into its claimed local sourcing of motor controllers on the Viva model. The Founder-CEO has resigned...
For all its limitations, air cooling the motor/battery is still the most elegant solution. But are we doing it right or are we still scratching the surface in cooling?
By going slow, Honda has allowed Chinese and Indian start-ups to leap-frog ahead. As the Japanese giant wakes up, is the market evolving too fast for Honda?
Honda controls 35-percent of the global two-wheeler market. Yet, when it comes to electric two-wheelers, the Japanese brand has been slow. Is it just them being typically Japanese, or have they been deliberately lazy?
The choice between air-cooled and liquid-cooled in E2Ws is the question every engineering team faces when designing anything above the learner license category.
For a new technology area, the E2W world is sadly starved of innovation. That may be a controversial statement but we feel most E2W manufacturers are focused more on pretend-innovative than actually being innovative
Heritage machines are never about numbers. Riders seek an emotional connection with them. So if a new brand focuses on industrial design to get eyeballs and target that emotional connection, more power to them. Also, that may be a good template for electric motorcycle manufacturers to follow.
How fast can a nascent market get crowded? We see that happening already with many startups developing electric motocrossers. Agreed that this is a promising format but overcrowding always means some will sink.
The motocrosser/trial format is the best fit for electric powertrains. You need high torque, yet ride shorter distances and for shorter time-periods. A perfect match, but are we overdoing it?
With revenues from battery swapping growing while those from vehicle sales declining, Gogoro may have a problem with the wrong business model. This creates a situation where the brand is bigger than the business
Not everyone gets treated equally, or fairly, and that is a reality. The global equity markets are rewarding the potential future than fundamentals.
At one time, SPACs and listing on Nasdaq was a great eventual target that urban electric mobility companies worked towards. The tide has changed and no one seems to be doing well. In the second part of this series, we try to decipher why E2W stocks are sinking?
