SONDORS says it sold 1,000 electric motorcycles in a week after huge price drop

Published

2 years ago

March 9, 2023

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Electric bike and e-motorcycle company SONDORS appears to be riding a new wave of orders for its SONDORS Metacycle electric motorcycle.

Last week the company created a limited discount of $2,500 on its $6,500 electric motorcycle.

The discount, announced as a form of “credit” provided by the company, was said to be available for the next 1,000 customers who put down a $500 deposit.

Those bikes would be slated for Q4 2023 deliveries.

A week after announcing the discount, SONDORS now says that all of the credits have been used up.

The fire sale seems to have created quick demand, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. $4,000 can get you a pretty nice 20 mph (32 km/h) electric bicycle, so a highway-capable electric motorcycle for the same price sounds quite enticing.

But the surprise discount fueled more than just quick demand. It also created significant speculation about the company’s financial standing. After the company filed for an IPO late last year and revealed a less than rosy financial report, SONDORS has since postponed the planned IPO.

The $2,500 Metacycle discount was seen by many as a way to shore up some quick demand, though it would have only resulted in an immediate cash infusion of US $500,000 from the reservation deposits. Once the bikes are produced, that would turn into $US 4 million.

The company has long operated on a presale model, where deposits or full presale amounts are used to fund production of each successive round of bikes. The model is commonly used in the electric bicycle industry, but SONDORS has relied on its e-bike roots to bring the model into the e-moto world.

SONDORS has been ramping up deliveries of its Metacycle, which was first unveiled in early 2021. The bike had a rocky rollout after suffering from production delays and surprise design changes.

The Metacycle, despite failing to deliver on some of its loftier original promises, has proven itself to be a capable urban commuter bike that is still fast enough for short jaunts at highway speeds.

The maximum claimed range of 80 miles (130 km) is only achievable at slower city speeds, but mixed ranges of 40-50 miles (64-80 km) with combined city and limited highway riding have been reported by riders. That’s not going to make this into a touring bike, but should be sufficient for most commuters.

I took the bike on one of its first public review rides (see my video review below) and found it to be a fun and nimble ride. I’d gladly own and ride it as a commuter bike, and I’d recommend it for that use case. My testing showed that the bike felt like the perfect upgrade for someone that comes from an electric bicycle background and is ready to upgrade to a motorcycle.

The scooter-style setup with modest power and acceleration as well as dual hand brake levers makes the bike easy to ride for newcomers to motorcycles. Yet, it still has fun performance that you can’t get from a typical electric bicycle.

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The Metacycle became one of the first low-cost light electric motorcycles to hit the market in the US, but will soon face competition from other models.

The CSC RX1E is said to be arriving in the US in April, and the folks at RYVID are surely hoping to take their own significant slice of the light electric motorcycle pie when the RYVID Anthem bike launches sometime later this year.

In the meantime though, the Metacycle is largely the only low-cost light electric motorcycle in town.

Electrek’s Take

I don’t have any other information on SONDORS’ financial situation other than what I’ve reported on, but the rapid pre-sale of 1,000 bikes with a price tag lower than even the promotional launch price doesn’t imply a strong position.

That being said, I’m seriously rooting for SONDORS and I hope that this can help launch the Metacycle even further. While it’s no sport bike, I will always praise the Metacycle’s innovative design and accessible price. The bike works well, is fun to ride and has the serious potential to bring commuter/recreational e-motorcycle riding to so many more people than would have been possible before.

So let’s hope this works, because for all its faults, the Metacycle is here. It rides. And we need more things like it.

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Environment

GE Vernova lands repower orders for 1 GW of US wind turbines

Published

2 hours ago

January 24, 2025

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GE Vernova lands repower orders for 1 GW of US wind turbines

GE Vernova repower wind — Photo: GE Vernova

GE Vernova’s onshore wind business announced that it received orders in 2024 to repower over 1 gigawatt (GW) of wind turbines in the US.

Wind energy repowering is all about breathing new life into older turbines. By swapping out aging parts like turbines, blades, and nacelles for the latest tech, wind farms see significant boosts in efficiency, power capacity, and overall lifespan. Other infrastructure and control systems can also get a second life.

Adding new components to existing infrastructure and grid connections means it’s less expensive to extend the life of the wind farm with fewer resources. New components make the turbines less prone to breakdowns which means less maintenance, so there are fewer operational costs.

The repowering projects for which GE Vernova received orders will use nacelles and drive trains that it manufactures in its Pensacola, Florida, factory.

“As the United States works to meet the doubling of projected demand for more energy, repower projects like these help US workers in US factories take advantage of what we already have, where we already have it,” said Matt Lynch, general manager of Repower at GE Vernova.

The orders were booked between the first and fourth quarters of 2024. GE Vernova’s wind repower projects are expected to come online between 2024 and 2027.

GE Vernova’s onshore wind business has a total installed base of approximately 56,000 turbines and nearly 120 GW of installed capacity worldwide.

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Kia’s NACS adapters available now; Supercharger access still pending

Published

3 hours ago

January 24, 2025

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Kia's NACS adapters available now; Supercharger access still pending

Kia’s official first-party NACS adapters are now ready to ship out, but owners will have to wait to use them on Tesla Superchargers until later this quarter.

The rollout of Supercharger access to non-Tesla brands is hitting a fever pitch this year, with several brands added to the “coming soon” list, and even beyond that, VW and Honda have both made their own announcements that access is coming soon.

But for most vehicles, charging on Superchargers will require an adapter for the time being, as most brands aren’t adding native NACS ports to their vehicles until a future date (the current exceptions are the 2025 Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 which have native ports).

Each manufacturer is dealing with adapter rollouts separately, and Kia’s ready to announce that their adapters are ready to go.

Kia told us today that shipments of first-party adapters are currently en route to dealerships, and certain owners will be getting a notification soon to claim their adapter.

In Kia’s previous announcement about adapter availability, it said that any 2024 or 2025 EV6 or EV9 owners who took delivery after September 4 would get a free NACS adapter. Those owners should receive a push notification soon in their Kia Connect app through which they can claim their adapter.

For other owners, adapters will be available from Kia dealers for $249, which is roughly in line with the average cost we’ve been seeing for these adapters. Dealers should be getting the adapters any day now.

However, these adapters will be of limited usefulness for the next several weeks. You’ll be able to use them to charge at Tesla destination chargers, or any home charger with a Tesla/NACS plug on it, but Supercharger access still requires a handshake between the car and the charging network, and that handshake is currently disabled.

Originally, Kias were going to gain access on January 15th, but that was pushed back until the “back end of this quarter.” Some owners found out a loophole to allow for charging on the network, but that loophole was closed just yesterday.

As a result, Kia is also including “definitive instructions” on how to use the adapters along with each shipment. It wants to ensure that everyone is using them properly, especially given the recent back-and-forth about, uh, unsanctioned methods to access the network before official availability.

Kia’s EV6 with the native NACS port has also taken longer to arrive than Hyundai’s 2025 Ioniq 5. Ioniq 5s are already shipping (and can even charge faster than Teslas at a Supercharger, a feat the EV6 should also achieve), but EV6s haven’t yet hit dealerships. They should be on around the same timeline as Supercharger access, and ought to be available in the back half of this quarter.

So… Kia fans will still have to wait a little bit, but at least you’ll have the adapters ready to go for when the floodgates open later this quarter.

If you’re looking to buy one of the fastest-charging EVs on the road today, use our link to check local dealers and get in line for when they get the new 2025 Kia EV6s in stock.

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Kempower and Ziegler partner on EV fast charging for fleets

Published

3 hours ago

January 24, 2025

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Kempower and Ziegler partner on EV fast charging for fleets

EV charger manufacturer Kempower and Ziegler Energy Solutions have paired up to deliver EV fast charging infrastructure for commercial fleets.

To put it simply, Finland and US-based Kempower brings DC fast chargers to the table, and Ziegler Energy Solutions’ (ZES’s) specialty is infrastructure, energy efficiency, and operational flexibility, along with sales and service.

“As businesses and municipalities increasingly transition to electric fleets, reliable and adaptable EV charging infrastructure with the highest uptime is paramount,” said Troy Monson, general manager of Ziegler Energy Solutions. “Partnering with Kempower enables us to deliver scalable, user-friendly solutions that support our customers’ electrification goals and operational needs.”

ZES, which is now a Kempower Certified Partner, helps fleet operators address challenges like high mileage, uptime demands, and energy cost management using its EV fleet planning tools that simulate real-world scenarios like duty cycles, charging schedules, and energy needs. It also has a leasing program, and integrates solar and battery storage into fast charging infrastructure.

This means Kempower can now offer its DC fast chargers to fleet operators with ZES’s support, ensuring uptime and reliability.

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