This off-roading electric bike can go 200 miles and uses an electric car charger
Watt Wagons, a US-based manufacturer of high-power and high-end electric bicycles, has a new model designed for serious off-roaders and adventurers. In fact, the Watt Wagon HOUND has several keys specs that sound almost foreign in the electric bicycle industry, such as a 200-mile range and built-in chargers compatible with electric car charging stations.
The Watt Wagon HOUND is actually available in two models, the base model and the “Supercharged” model.
They share the same custom-developed frame that looks to be optimized for utility riding with an extra-long rear rack and features a fairly upright seating posture. The frame mounts a powerful mid-drive motor, a big battery, ultra-fat tires in 26″ x 4.7″ size, and quad-piston hydraulic disc brakes.
But just how big and powerful the motor and battery are will depend on the model.
The base level HOUND has a respectable 52V 17Ah battery with 884 Wh of capacity. That will offer a real-world throttle range of 30 miles (51 km) and a pedal assist range of 80 miles (130 km), according to the company.
But upgrading to the Supercharged model lands you a massive 52V 60Ah battery with 3,210 Wh of capacity. The company claims you’ll get 100 solid miles (160 km) on throttle-only riding or 200 miles (320 km) on pedal assist.
And not only do you get a massive battery, but you also get both a 52V 5A fast charger and an EV charger with a J1772 connector, giving you multiple options for quickly recharging that big battery.
At those levels, it rivals several other e-bikes that claim to be the longest-range models in the world.
When it comes to motors, there’s a similar disparity. The base model comes with a Bafang Ultra motor, which is already a highly respected drivetrain offering 1,000W of power.
But the Supercharged version of the Watt Wagon HOUND comes with an upgraded Bafang Ultra that replaces its stock controller with an X1 controller. That increases the power to 3 kW nominal and 3.5 kW peak.
If that doesn’t sound quite street-legal to you, then you’re not wrong. But the 750W power limit for e-bikes in the US only applies to use on public roads and cycleways, not off-roading. And that’s exactly the type of adventure riding that the HOUND was designed for.
As the company explained:
Built after extensive consultation with serious campers and hunters, the HOUND is the ultimate beast in the woods. With a super stable ground up design geared towards storage and hauling capabilities, belt drive to reduce impact of elements, the HOUND is a platform that enables almost every thinkable accessory for your adventure.
As you can imagine, a high-power and extremely long-range electric bike built by a US company isn’t going to come cheap. The base HOUND starts at US $5,499.
Upgrading to the Supercharged version also comes with a supercharged price of US $7,999.
Shipping is expected to begin sometime this month, so at least you won’t have to wait too long to set out on a 200-mile electric bike adventure ride.
What do you think of the new Watt Wagon HOUND? Is it the next big thing in e-bikes, or a bit too rich for your blood? Or both? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
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In a move that helps the brand duck protectionist anti-Chinese tariffs, Volvo Cars has switched production of its award-winning EX30 models destined for US roads from its Zhangjiakou plant in China to the Ghent facility in Belgium.
Volvo EX30 production began in the company’s Ghent factory back in April, but those first cars were earmarked for the Swedish domestic and European export markets, but that move wasn’t primarily motivated by avoiding tariffs. As Electrive reports, the company seemed happy enough to continue importing its small electric crossover from China and accepting the new 28.8% tariffs (up from 10%), but the wait times to get the vehicles shipped in from China was imply too long.
In 2024, Swedish and German buyers had to wait up to eight months for their EX30 in some cases, according to Volvo Cars’ European boss, Arek Nowinski, per Automotive News. Once production in Ghent is fully up to speed, however, wait times should be cut to about 90 days. Those wait times, and the price hike associated with the tariffs, have hurt sales of the originally Chinese-made Volvo EV. In 2024, for example, the EX30 ranked third in European EV sales, but slipped out of the top 10 first half of 2025.
“The car is now being built in Europe, which means faster delivery times,” Volvo Cars CEO Hakan Samuelsson to Automotive News. “We should return to the sales and market share figures for the EX30 that we had before the introduction of tariffs.”
Coming to Staying in America
The EX30’s switch to Ghent is good news for American fans of the compact, lickety-quick Volvo EV. Now that it’s no longer exclusively made in China, Volvo has decided to give it a stay of execution as it revamps its US product lineup to better align with market trends (read: SUVs) and the changing political landscape (read: tariffs and inflation).
The reason? The Made in China version of the EX30 would virtually unsellable in the US due to the implementation of 147% tariffs on vehicles imported from China. Vehicles imported from Europe, meanwhile, carry just 15% tariffs, keeping the EX30 in a competitive price bracket.
Expect to see both Ghent and South Carolina play an increasingly large role in Volvo’s US product mix – at least for the next three-odd years.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Volvo Cars, Automotive News, via Electrive.
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New filings have revealed that BYD is about to release a ridiculous 3,000 hp electric supercar: the Yangwang U9 Track Edition.
BYD already shocked the world when it launched the Yangwang U9, its first all-electric supercar.
It featured four advanced electric motors with a combined power of nearly 1,300 horsepower. The U9 can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (0 to 100 km/h) in just 2.36 seconds.
With a motor at each wheel and a highly advanced electric-air suspension, the U9 can turn on itself and even jump over potholes.
But that was only the beginning.
Based on a new filing with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), BYD is preparing to launch a new ‘Track Edition’ of the Yangwang U9:
When an automaker releases a “track” version of a car, it typically primarily features body changes for better aerodynamic performance, adding downforce, and it will also often feature bigger brakes.
The Yangwang U9 ‘Track Edition’ appears to feature all that… and much more.
The filing reveals that BYD updated the motors at each wheel to a new 555 kW motor. That’s a higher-performing motor than in most performance electric vehicles. The U9 Track Edition has four of them for a total of 2,220 kW (3,019 hp).
I would have thought that this was a typo if it wasn’t for the insane electric vehicles coming out of China these days.
Here are a few pictures from the MIIT filing:
There are a lot of performance specs that are not included in the MIIT filing. Therefore, it will be interesting to see when the vehicle is fully unveiled and BYD reveals what kind of performance it can achieve with 3,000 hp packed in 4 electric motors.
Here are a few other features mentioned in the filing:
Standard features:
- 20-inch wheels with 325/35 R20 tyres
- Carbon-fibre roof
- Large fixed carbon-fibre rear wing
- Rear diffuser with adjustable blades for aerodynamic optimisation
Optional aerodynamic parts:
- Standard or enhanced carbon-fibre front splitter
- Electric rear wing
Electrek’s Take
How are they going to keep that thing from flying away? Seriously.
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