America’s latest electric motorcycle maker ramping production, teases new model
Ryvid, a California-based electric motorcycle manufacturer, has just shared new details about its soon-to-be-completed San Bernadino factory and an upcoming new model.
The company first burst onto the scene barely a year and a half ago, rolling out an impressive prototype in 2022 (and one that I had the pleasure of taking on one of the first test rides.)
The bike featured major innovations such as an easily removable battery with built-in wheels and a weldless folded metal frame that was lighter and easier to manufacture. The frame even included features such as a seat actuator that could raise and lower the saddle height by as much as 4 inches (100 mm), even while riding.
The highway-capable electric motorcycle began deliveries in September of last year and has since worked to ramp up production to meet increasing demand.
A major part of that production ramp-up includes a new San Bernadino, California factory. The company’s founder and automotive designer, Dong Tran, explained that the American-based production team and the company’s unique manufacturing style help reject traditional, complex practices in favor of an extremely flexible, responsive, and adaptable process with a simplified supply chain.
“Opening our own factory facility has allowed us to streamline the manufacturing process further, speeding up what is already a rapid production process, allowing Ryvid to quickly pivot to new models and focus on new market segments,” explained Tran. “While growth is important for any business model, we’re going to prioritize the pillars of our company, which are accessibility, innovation, sustainability and community.”
Ryvid Anthem to be followed by second model
The $8,995 Ryvid Anthem is the company’s current flagship model, and is expected to be joined by at least one new model later this year. As Ryvid explained, “While the Anthem is still a brand new product, everyone at Ryvid is focused on achieving the next breakthrough.”
No release date has been set, but a spring or summer announcement has been floated by the company, meaning we may not have to wait too long to see what Ryvid has up its sleeve.
And to keep things interesting, Ryvid shared a bit of a teaser by saying that “the new, American-manufactured model will shake up current motorcycle manufacturing concepts by offering riders an extraordinarily flexible platform to attract a wide range of riders and provide plenty of options for personalization.”
Electrek’s Take
I can’t say exactly what Ryvid’s engineers are working on, but based on the Anthem, I expect it to be pretty impressive.
I’m also excited to see that Ryvid has taken a different approach to entering the rocky electric motorcycle market, eschewing business models like those that ultimately sank the SONDORS Metacycle, and instead focusing on first achieving a healthy funding base and local manufacturing processes.
Having met many of the Ryvid team myself and test ridden the company’s first model, I can say that this feels like the real deal. In fact, when I was recently buying an electric motorcycle for myself, the Ryvid Anthem nearly won out. It ultimately landed as my second choice, and I’ll have a LiveWire Del Mar rolling into my garage hopefully any day now. I chose it for the larger battery and the wide distribution of Harley-Davidson dealerships for service/support, but I was pretty darn to close to pulling the trigger on a Ryvid (and could have saved around 50% by going that way, too!).
But hey, the great thing about motorcycles is that there always seems to be room in the garage for one more. So perhaps I need to get a look at what’s coming next out of Ryvid’s new factory…
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Environment
Toyota the EV battery supplier? Honda will use them to power up its 400,000 hybrids in the US
Toyota is now a battery supplier? That’s the plan. Honda will use Toyota’s batteries to power up its around 400,000 hybrids sold in the US.
Toyota will supply batteries for Honda hybrids in the US
Toyota’s $14 billion battery plant in North Carolina is ready for business. The facility will begin shipping out batteries next month, and it looks like Toyota already has its first customer.
According to a new Nikkei report, starting in fiscal 2025, Toyota will supply batteries for the roughly 400,000 Honda hybrids sold in the US.
Honda currently uses batteries from China and Japan for vehicles sold in the US, but the company is (like most) preparing for changes under Trump.
Honda’s electrified vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, accounted for over a quarter of US sales last year. The company sold over 308,500 hybrids and 40,400 electric vehicles in the US in 2024. The batteries will likely be used in the CR-V and other Honda hybrid vehicles.
Earlier this month, an extra 10% tariff on imports from China took effect. And that’s on top of the 10% imposed in February.
With more expected, including a 25% increase in vehicles imported from Japan, automakers are tightening up their supply chains.
A 25% tariff on Japanese vehicles, up from 2.5% currently, is estimated to cost the six major Japanese automakers about $20 billion in the US.
Tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada could cost Honda roughly $4.7 billion alone. Teaming up with Toyota to use its batteries for its hybrids is part of Japan’s broader global plans to ween off dependence on China and others for batteries and other emerging tech.
The new US plant, Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina (TBMC), is over seven million square feet, or about the size of 121 football fields.
As Toyota’s first in-house battery factory outside of Japan, the plant could be a game changer as Trump’s tariffs take effect. Securing Honda as a buyer will already help Toyota cut costs as it ramps up output.
Toyota plans to ramp up electrified vehicle (EV, PHEV, and hybrid) sales in North America from around 40% last year to 80% by 2030.
Electrek’s Take
Trump’s tariffs are already causing havoc, with nearly every automaker warning that they put the US further behind. Overseas automakers are not the only ones feeling the heat, either.
The “Big Three,” GM, Ford, and Jeep maker Stellantis all build vehicles in Canada and Mexico. GM cut output at its plant in Mexico in January, where the electric Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Honda Prologue are made. Stellantis halted operations at its Brampton Assembly Plant in Canada last month, where it was expected to launch the Jeep Compass EV production. What’s next?
For Toyota, it looks like its $14 billion bet to build batteries in the US is already paying off. Now, we just need it to introduce more EVs.
After unveiling three new electric SUVs in Europe last week, including the updated bZ4X, Toyota hinted more is on the way for the US. Check back soon for updates.
What do you think? Do you want to see more Toyota EVs in the US, like the new C-HR+? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Environment
If Musk wants to sell Tesla cars to conservatives, Tesla needs stores and service in red states
Elon Musk wants to sell Tesla cars to conservatives, but if that’s the strategy, the automaker should start with having stores and service centers in red states and rural areas.
It’s no secret that Elon Musk’s approval ratings with progressives have been plummeting over the last few years and even more so in the previous few months.
Since he has control over Tesla and he is the only official spokesperson since he let go of the PR department in 2020, the CEO is dragging the automaker along for the ride.
This is a problem for Tesla as Democrats are much more likely to buy electric vehicles than Republicans:
Tesla’s sales have been crumbling over the last few months, and after the stock crashed 15% last Monday, President Trump held a controversial commercial for Tesla with Musk on the steps of the White House on Tuesday.
A day later, it was reported that Musk plans to give Trump another $100 million in political donations.
It was an apparent attempt to try to promote Tesla to Trump’s fans: conservatives.
Based on a Tesla inventory check and new order delivery timeline, we reported that the Trump ad appeared to have little to no impact on the demand for Tesla vehicles.
It could be that people see through Musk and Trump’s quid pro quo and, therefore, don’t value Trump’s “Tessler” endorsement seriously. Still, there’s also a more practical reason why Trump’s fans and conservatives generally don’t buy more Tesla vehicles: the locations of Tesla’s stores and service centers (hat tip to Ben).
Even if some Trump fans were interested in buying a Tesla after the White House commercial last week, they might have been turned off by the idea of having to drive several hours to a store or service center.
Tesla does not have stores or service centers in Alabama, Arkansas, North and South Dakota, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, or Wyoming.
In some cases, it’s not entirely Tesla’s fault, as some of these states have laws against Tesla’s direct sale models. They force automakers to go through third-party franchise dealerships. This is an abuse of old state laws aimed at protecting dealers against unfair competition from the automakers they represent.
Car dealer lobbies use their influence on state legislatures to use these laws to block Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and other automakers who never had franchise dealerships from operating their own stores and service centers.
But on top of not having locations in several red states, Tesla also primarily has locations in urban areas, whereas conservatives disproportionally live in rural areas.
The automaker has several dead zones and doesn’t operate locations in smaller cities and towns where there are several Ford, GM, Toyota, and other car dealers:
While it certainly does happen, it’s hard to convince someone to buy a car if they have to drive several hours to pick it up and have it serviced.
Electrek’s Take
In short, it’s not only harder to convince conservatives, on average, to buy an electric vehicle, but Tesla is also not correctly set up to sell and service cars in conservative regions of the US.
Though, I think that’s a small part of the problem.
Cars are not supposed to be political.
Even if Tesla successfully converted a significant percentage of conservatives to electric vehicles, it wouldn’t stop the company’s brand destruction.
Tesla’s reputation amongst Democrats and independents has sharply decreased over the last few years, and especially over the last few months, and that’s thanks to Elon Musk alienating them.
It’s tough to be a successful consumer product company when you have alienated 50% or so of your market.
Tesla is basically becoming the MyPillow of Trump’s second term.
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