Will Electric Motorcycles Become the Future of Urban Transport?

Jan 25 2012

Will your next auto loan be not for a car but for an electric motorcycle?  A new report by Pike Research examines the growth of the electric motorcycle worldwide and comes to some interesting conclusions.

The researchers say that worldwide sales of electric motorcycles and electric scooters will keep on expanding.  The Asia Pacific region is where most of these nifty vehicles are sold: More than 17 million during 2011 in fact.  Combined sales in the rest of the world only amounted to 30,000.

The market, says Pike, is on the verge of undergoing structural changes.  International brands such as KTM and Honda have recently started producing electric motorcycles and other companies will have to drastically change their business plans or come up with new products to remain competitive.

At this stage, with the market being in its infancy, there is no single manufacturer that has emerged as an industry leader.  Lack of proper distribution channels currently restricts the size of the market.  There are still also insufficient equipment manufacturers to satisfy demand.

Pikes highest ranking goes to Zero Motorcycles because of its good execution and strong strategic planning.  The company’s product line-up caters well for the “early adopter” market, which is less cost conscious and its dealer network straddles several regions.

Jiangsu Xinri E-Vehicle, with its deeply contrasting business plan, is another company to which Pike gives a high rating.  The company’s range of e-scooters has been highly successful in China and it also enjoys significant success in the rest of Asia as well as in Eastern Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East.

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