Kawasaki reveals specs for electric Ninja and Z motorcycles, but they’re embarrassing
Kawasaki has officially announced several key specs for its upcoming electric motorcycles, as well as expected release dates. The only problem for these two highly anticipated models is that the new Kawasaki Ninja e-1 and Z e-1 aren’t going to knock anyone’s riding socks off.
We’ve already had a few hints regarding the entry-level performance of the two bikes thanks to classification documents that we reported on last month.
But now we’ve got the official numbers straight from Team Green, and they aren’t pretty.
The Kawasaki Ninja e-1 (faired sport bike) and the Z e-1 (naked bike) will both share the same 5 kW electric motor. That chain-driving motor is rated for 9 kW of peak power, but only in bursts.
It’s meant to crank out a top speed of up to 99 km/h (61 mph), though it’s not yet clear if that is the sustained speed or rather a burst speed.
Some electric motorcycles include a boost mode that allows riders to access the motor’s peak power for several seconds, often useful when overtaking a slower vehicle. Though at these top speeds, overtaking may not be an issue with which riders will need to concern themselves.
The bikes feature two removable batteries that can be charged either on-board or separately with a docking station, allowing street-level parkers to charge in their apartments or elsewhere away from the bike itself.
Kawasaki tellingly hasn’t revealed info about the battery capacity or range on a single charge, but neither are expected to be very high. Removable batteries limit the capacity to something that can be carried, which means no one should expect these to be long-distance batteries.
The largest removable batteries I’ve seen so far were in my NIU NQiGT Long Range, which had a couple 2.1 kWh batteries, each weighing around 12 kg (26.5 lb.). Carrying the pair up to my apartment was doable, but barely. So the Kawasaki Ninja e-1 or Z e-1 landing with much more than 4.2 kWh of battery capacity is not likely.
Kawasaki is also part of a battery consortium pushing for adoption of Honda’s swappable batteries to become an industry standard. It’s not clear if Kawasaki adopted Honda’s 1.475 kWh battery packs, but if it did, then we’d be looking at a bike with a meager 2.95 kWh of battery capacity. There are electric bicycles with that much battery.
For comparison, the SONDORS Metacycle electric motorcycle has a 4 kWh battery pack and despite advertising a range of between 60-80 miles (96-130 km), most owners have indicated that mixed riding nets closer to half of the claimed range.
So these are obviously very much commuter-level electric motorcycles, to say the least.
But don’t for a minute think these aren’t full-featured bikes. As the company explained itself, “Kawasaki Z e-1 and Ninja e-1 riders can also amaze their friends with a walk mode that allows these machines to maneuver at walking pace in both forward AND reverse – particularly useful for tight parking spots or moving backwards up an incline.” So sure, they don’t go very fast. But they can move… slowly!
To be fair, reverse is a useful feature on motorcycles, one that is easy to include on electrics but rarely seen on combustion engine motorcycles. But let’s not bend over backwards patting ourselves on the back when electric bicycles have the same features.
Both models are expected to debut in the UK next month, but the estimated price is as elusive as the battery specs. Kawasaki has remained mum on both, and so we’ll have to wait just a bit longer to find out how much the bikes will cost.
Electrek’s Take
I don’t mean to be overly harsh here, because the specs alone aren’t bad for a basic, simple commuter e-motorcycle. And the bikes look great, in true Ninja fashion.
The problem is that this is the Kawasaki Ninja we’re talking about here. It’s not a commuter motorcycle, or at least it wasn’t meant to be. Even the underpowered Ninja 125cc released a few years ago can hit nearly 75 mph (121 km/h), making it highway capable. But the Ninja e-1 sounds like it will struggle to slowly hit 60 mph (96 km/h), making it arguably dangerous to take on highways.
But again, these are obviously meant to be urban bikes, so maybe they will appeal to an urban crowd.
The real decider here though is going to be the price. Considering you can get truly highway-capable commuter e-motorcycles like the Ryvid Anthem and CSC RX1E for below US $8,000, the Kawasaki Ninja e-1 and Z e-1 will need to be considerably cheaper to achieve any market penetration. I mean, you can buy an electric scooter with similar specs for US $6K, for crying out loud.
What we’re looking at are basically SONDORS Metacycle-level specs, though at least from a company that has been around for longer and may continue to be around long after SONDORS.
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Solar panel giant Qcells announced today that it’s temporarily furloughing 1,000 US workers – 25% of its workforce – and reducing pay and shifts at its factories in northeast Georgia due to supply chain delays caused by US Customs.
Qcells furloughs 1,000 workers
The supply chain delays are hindering the company’s ability to import components to build its solar panels. This has resulted in Qcells’ two factories in Cartersville and Dalton being unable to operate at full capacity for several months.
Qcells spokeswoman Marta Stoepker shared the following statement in an exclusive with Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta:
The company says the furloughed workers, who were notified this afternoon, will retain full benefits and won’t be laid off. However, Qcells will no longer be using staffing agency employees in Georgia “at this time.”
As Qcells introduced new supply chains to support its growing solar panel manufacturing facilities in Georgia, the company was recently forced to scale back production while our shipments into the US were delayed in the customs clearance process.
Although our supply chain operations are beginning to normalize, today we shared with our employees that HR actions must be taken to improve operational efficiency until production capacity returns to normal levels.
Stoepker said it expects to bring the furloughed workers back “in the coming weeks and months.” She continued:
Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains. We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.
Electrek’s Take
In January 2023, the Seoul-headquartered Qcells announced it would invest more than $2.5 billion to build a solar supply chain in Georgia – the largest-ever investment in clean energy manufacturing in the US to date. That included expanding the Dalton solar factory and building a fully integrated solar supply chain factory in Cartersville, Georgia, that will manufacture solar ingots, wafers, cells, and finished panels.
It’s not quite there yet, because that takes time. In the meantime, it’s being penalized by Customs. The US government under Trump says it’s keen on boosting domestic manufacturing. Why would it work against a company that’s onshoring an entire solar supply chain, including recycling?
Dalton and Cartersville employ nearly 4,000 people. Its total output will reach 8.4 GW of solar production capacity per year, which is equivalent to nearly 46,000 panels per day – enough to power approximately 1.3 million homes annually.
It’s ludicrous that it has been forced to furlough a quarter of its workforce due to the ineptness of the Trump administration’s US Customs policies. This is right up there with the ICE arrests at Hyundai’s plant in Georgia. Bravo.
Read more: Georgia gives US solar panel manufacturing a big boost with a new factory
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The breakthrough EV batteries Toyota says will double driving range and cut charging times are facing another setback. The company is once again delaying plans for a new battery plant in Japan.
Why is Toyota delaying its EV battery plant this time?
Earlier this year, Toyota bought a 280,000-square-meter plot of land in Fukuoka, Japan, where it planned to build a plant to produce the more advanced EV batteries.
A location agreement was expected to be signed by April, but Toyota pushed back construction by several months, blaming slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles.
The agreement was expected to be finalized this Fall, but that will no longer be the case. According to Nikkei, Toyota is delaying the EV battery plant for the second time. Toyota will review and adjust plans over the next year.
Fukuoka governor, Seitaro Hattori, confirmed the news with reporters on Friday following a meeting with Toyota’s president, Koji Sato. Hattori also shut down claims that Toyota was planning to scrap the battery plant altogether.
Toyota again blamed slowing EV demand for the delay. The decision comes despite Keiji Kaita, president of Toyota’s Carbon Neutral Advanced Engineering Development Center, confirming at the Japan Mobility Show just last week that it’s “sticking on the schedule” to introduce its first solid-state battery-powered EV by 2028.
Last month, Toyota said it aimed to “achieve the world’s first practical use of all-solid-state batteries in BEVs” after securing a partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. to mass-produce them. It’s also working with Japanese oil giant Idemitsu.
The company recently revealed a solid-state battery pack prototype that it claims can deliver 747 miles (1,200 km) range and 10-minute fast charging, but will we ever see it actually in production?
Electrek’s Take
Toyota has been making empty promises about EV batteries for almost a decade now. It initially planned to introduce solid-state EV batteries in 2020, then pushed it to 2023, then 2026, and now it’s saying it will be around 2028.
Mass production is likely closer to the end of the decade, if Toyota doesn’t delay it again. While it’s blaming the slowing demand, global EV sales are still on the rise. According to Rho Motion, global EV sales topped 2 million for the first time in a single month in September 2025. Through the first nine months of the year, EV sales are up 26% compared to the same period in 2024.
Even with the US ending the $7,500 federal tax credit and other policies designed to promote electric vehicles, global adoption will continue building momentum over the next few years.
Is it a demand issue, or is Toyota just looking for another excuse? With rivals like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW, and Honda advancing next-gen EV batteries, Toyota will only fall further behind if it continues delaying key projects.
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