The day when motorcycles no longer "roar"

Monday, 26 november 2018 | Redacción CEU

Combustion engine motorcycles are still far from disappearing. Nonetheless, it is true that the future of this means of transport looks electric. Traffic policies that are related to climate change, the promotion of shared transport and the commitment of major brands to electrification are driving their development. The electric motorbike is a real alternative to the new mobility. However, while electric cars capture all the attention, these types of vehicles do not receive the interest that they deserve yet. Today, at The CEU IAM Business School, we want to see the electric future on two wheels. What changes does the consolidation of electric motorcycles bring  along? What are the particularities of this means of transport?

The new draft of the Law on Climate Change and Energy Transition, which was presented by the Government a few weeks ago, has unleashed a whirlwind in the motor world. The debate on full electrification has taken the streets, and now there are as many detractors as advocates. Countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Ireland and Norway have also developed similar plans that aim at putting an end to the use of these vehicles. European cities are not far behind, they have even approved regulations that go beyond the national measures that were proposed. We take as a starting point all these facts to explain that, although diesel and gasoline cars occupy a central place in this debate, everything indicates that combustion engine motorcycles may also disappear from the roads in a few decades.

Whether because an environmental awareness is permeating or because it is already necessary to resort to new formulas to be competitive, motorcycle brands are also aligning with the change. For example, in the last edition of The Milan Motorcycle Show (EICMA 2018), Harley-Davidson officially presented an electric motorcycle, LiveWire, a project in which the firm has been working since 2014. This vehicle will go into production next year and its launch is scheduled for 2019. In addition, Harley-Davidson plans to have a broad catalog of motorcycles and electric bicycles which meet the needs of different users in 2022. Another flagship brand that has decided to dive into the electric world on two wheels is Vespa. The Italian firm has been one of the first manufacturers to bet on this type of scooters. In fact, Vespa Elettrica is already on sale.

In this past edition of The Milan Motorcycle Show, the Harley-Davidson' proposal was not the only one that caught the visitors' attention. The electric supersport motorcycle of Kymco, SuperNEX, did it too. The Taiwanese firm believes that electricity does not have to be at odds with emotion. This brand has a sound commitment to electricity. This fact is confirmed by the launch of its plan called Ionex, a project that aims to accelerate the electric transition in urban environments and that the brand complements with a new generation of EV scooters.

Another fact that shows that the future of electric motorcycles is getting closer is the boost of shared mobility. As we mentioned in a recent article, the second property model in Spain is shared vehicles (cars, motorcycles, bicycles, ...). More and more companies are betting on motosharing in large Spanish cities. For example, in Madrid there are operators such as Muving, Ioscoot, eCooltra, Acciona Motosharing, Movo and Coup. The growing number of companies that opt for this type of shared vehicles is further proof of the increased trust of Spaniards in this type of mobility.