Toyota is the latest car company to jump on the electric bike bandwagon
Automakers have seen the writing on the wall for the car industry, as millions of new e-bike riders opt for lighter and more efficient vehicles. Now Toyota has become the latest in a long line of automakers dipping their toes into the electric bicycle market.
Like many other automakers who have rolled out e-bikes in the past few months and years, Toyota isn’t doing it alone.
Instead, the Japanese automaker is partnering with an existing e-bike maker as part of a licensing agreement.
The e-bike manufacturer DOUZE Cycles has partnered with Toyota in France to create the DOUZE Cycles x La mobilité Toyota cargo e-bike, based on the existing DOUZE Hêta model.
The front-loading cargo e-bike can carry up to 100 kg (220 lb) of payload on its forward cargo platform.
The e-bike is powered by a Yamaha mid-drive motor and features a 500 Wh battery rated for 100 km (62 miles) of range on pedal assist.
For those that carry more precious cargo, an optional passenger bucket is available to fit three kids strapped-in up front.
In a statement that makes it hard to ignore Toyota’s long-standing anti-EV stance, Chairman and CEO of Toyota France Frank Marotte explained that the new e-bike partnership follows in Toyota’s sustainability roadmap that started with its early investment in hybrid vehicles:
“25 years ago, Toyota opened the hybrid road with the first generation of Prius, thus showing the way to decarbonization. The hybrid, of which Toyota has now become the world leader, is now at the heart of the multi-technology strategy of the brand which makes it possible to meet the specific mobility needs of each consumer. Soft and local mobility is one of these needs. It is therefore quite naturally, on the basis of a common vision, that we entered into this partnership with DOUZE Cycles, a key French player in the cargo bike market. Because of Toyota’s history in France, it seemed extremely important to us that our partner have a production site on national territory.”
Toyota has famously eschewed fully electric vehicles, instead investing heavily in hybrid vehicles that maintain a dependency on fossil fuels.
After years of opposing fully electric cars, and after replacing the company’s anti-EV CEO, Toyota may be warming up to EVs — or at least two-wheeled electric vehicles.
It seems that Toyota isn’t focusing its e-bike efforts on just France, but has also made headway in the US. A Denver Toyota dealership, seen below, has been spotted carrying Aventon’s electric bicycles.
The move is likely intended to take advantage of local e-bike incentives in the city.
Several automotive manufacturers have also jumped on the electric bicycle bandwagon in the last few years, chasing the rapidly expanding market and the low barrier to entry for lightweight two-wheeled electric vehicles.
Peugot has developed its own diverse line of e-bikes, and Spain’s SEAT previously teamed up with Barcelona-based Silence to brand its own seated and standing electric scooters.
GM developed an electric bicycle in-house, though the e-bike was unceremoniously killed off early in the COVID pandemic. Instead, GM recently showed off a HUMMER e-bike that was produced through a licensing agreement to complement the colossal and abominable HUMMER EV.
ŠKODA rolled out one of the weirdest electric bike/scooter concepts we’ve seen, though there’s no indication that it is headed for production.
Jeep has gotten into the high-power e-bike game via licensing agreements, though its similar attempt to co-develop an electric scooter was significantly less impressive.
Rivian, the electric truck and SUV maker, recently expanded its trademark to cover electric bicycles. The company has also hired top talent in the electric bicycle industry, making a move towards e-bikes even more likely.
VinFast, a Vietnamese-based electric maker, also recently showed off four interesting new e-bike models.
Swedish electric car maker Polestar has announced that it will develop its own electric bicycles.
Even motorcycle manufacturers like Harley-Davidson, Ducati and BMW Motorrad have gotten into electric bicycles and scooters, though Harley’s results and those from Ducati have been much more impressive than BMW’s.
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Environment
Ford F-150 Lightning sales have been falling for months: What’s going on with the EV pickup?
Is Ford’s electric pickup in trouble? Sales have been down for months, and February showed no relief. What’s going on with the Ford F-150 Lightning?
Ford F-150 Lightning sales drop again in February 2025
Ford’s US sales dropped by 9% last month. Although electrified vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, both notched double-digit growth, sales of Ford’s gas-powered (ICE) models, which accounted for over 85% of deliveries, fell nearly 13%.
Hybrids saw higher demand with sales up 27.5% to 15,357, while EV sales increased 15% to 7,326. The Mustang Mach-E was a bright spot with 3,312 models sold in February, up 13% from the prior year.
With 6,841 Mach-Es sold through the first three months of 2025, Ford’s electric crossover SUV remains a top-selling EV in the US.
Ford’s electric pickup didn’t fare as well. F-150 Lightning Sales were down nearly 15% last month with only 2,199 units sold. Through March, Ford has sold 15% fewer Lightning models than it did at this time last year.
Sales of the electric pickup have been slipping for months now. In the final three months of 2024, F-150 Lightning sales were down 10%.
The Lightning, alongside Rivian’s R1T, are no longer the only electric pickups on the market. Ford is facing new competition with the Tesla Cybertruck, Chevy Silverado EV, and GMC Sierra EV, arriving.
According to Cox Automotive, the Tesla Cybertruck slipped past the Lightning to become the fifth best-selling EV in the US last year with nearly 39,000 units sold. Ford’s Lightning was sixth with just over 33,500 models sold.
Ford extended its “Power Promise” promo earlier this year to boost demand, giving EV buyers a Level 2 home charger and other benefits, but Lightning sales are still down.
The American automaker cut Lightning production at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center last year, citing slower-than-expected demand. A new report from Automotive News claims Ford is now ending a pilot program to stock and distribute EVs through regional hubs after it failed to catch on. It was designed to speed up deliveries.
Although Ford plans to launch a smaller midsize electric pickup, it won’t arrive until at least two more years. With new competition, like the Ram 1500 REV and Volkswagen Scout pickup, hitting the market over the next few years, Ford may find it even harder to attract buyers.
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Costco’s Auto Program recently introduced some new member-only incentives, and the 2025 Volvo EX90 BEV is now on its list.
Volvo is offering Costco Executive Members $2,000 off the 2025 EX90. Costco Gold Star and Business members are eligible for $1,500 off. The incentives are available on all versions of the Volvo EX90 for members who purchase or lease from February 24 to April 30, 2025. It’s the only non-GM EV that’s that’s eligible for an incentive through the EV program.
The offer is compatible with A-Plan pricing for employees, as well as Affinity Pricing for teachers and first responders. Costco members will have had to have been members as of February 23 and be the primary members on the Costco account to qualify.
However, CarsDirect gave the heads up on how buyers can get up to $10,000 off the EX90’s MSRP. As we stated, if you’re a Costco Executive Member, that’s $2,000 off. Then, add the $7,500 EV Lease Allowance and a $500 loyalty discount on leases if you currently own or lease a Volvo or have owned or leased a Volvo within the past six months.
With the destination fee included, the base EX90 MSRP starts at $81,290, so that brings it down to $71,290, a more than 12% discount, a pretty good deal.
The 2025 AWD Volvo EX90, which can seat seven passengers comfortably, has a range of up to 310 miles and is NACS-compatible. It has a 510 hp engine, 110 kWh battery capacity, and can go from 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds.
Read more: Review: Volvo EX90 is a smooth AWD 7-seat luxury kid-hauler
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Environment
Tesla chairwoman sells $33 million worth of TSLA as she lets Elon Musk destroy the brand
Tesla chairwoman Robyn Denholm has sold another $33 million worth of Tesla stocks (TSLA) as she lets Elon Musk destroy the company’s brand.
As the head of Tesla’s board of directors, Denholm is amongst the few people who actually have oversight over Elon Musk at Tesla.
While Musk is CEO, he owns only about 13% of Tesla’s shares. Still, he is seen as having complete control over the company and the board, which is actually what led to a judge rescinding his compensation package last year.
That’s partly because when he “negotiated” himself a $55 billion compensation package with the board, the board also gave itself exorbitant compensation, which it eventually had to partly give back to the company after shareholders sued it for excessive compensation.
Despite Musk making threats to shareholders to get more control over Tesla and resorting to resource tunneling, the board, including Denholm, has remained silent.
Meanwhile, Denholm has been pocketing generational wealth through Tesla.
The chairwoman has received hundreds of thousands of Tesla shares at a discount through stock options as part of the previously mentioned “excessive board compensation,” and she has been selling them as son as she is allowed.
Last month, she sold $43 million worth of Tesla stocks, and today, Tesla revealed through a required SEC filing that Denholm is another 112,390 Tesla shares worth over $33 million through Merill Lynch:
With this sale, she has now sold over $100 million worth of Tesla stocks over the last 3 months.
Kimball Musk, Elon’s brother, and Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer Taneja Vaibhav also recently sold ahead of a recent drop in the company’s stock price.
Electrek’s Take
Over $100 million in the last three months—that’s apparently the going rate for a chairperson to let Elon Musk destroy years of work building the Tesla brand.
That’s a hard deal to pass on, especially if you have low morals, which is Tesla’s main problem right now. Musk has surrounded himself with yes people with low morals.
He has distanced Tesla from its mission and no one is saying anything because they are let go or getting compensated to shut up about it.
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