Car companies have been screwing up e-bikes for longer than you think
Believe it or not, there’s nothing new about major automakers and motorcycle companies trying and failing to build and sell electric bicycles. Despite millions upon millions of e-bikes being produced and sold each year by bicycle companies, automotive companies have spent decades failing to convert their design and manufacturing experience into e-bike success.
It might sound strange, especially since electric two-wheelers are the largest category of electric vehicles in the world – and growing quicker than any other type of EV. Even in a year when e-bike sales weren’t able to continue their meteoric growth trend, the e-bike industry still grew to a record size without any indication of stopping.
So you’d think that the automotive world, the very industry that has the most to lose from drivers becoming riders, would have gotten into the game by now.
The truth is that it has, and repeatedly. The problem is that Big Auto just hasn’t succeeded at it yet.
Chairman of the Light Electric Vehicle Association, Ed Benjamin, who has worked in the e-bike industry for nearly as long as it has been an industry and who has also advised several automakers on their e-bike projects, recently shared his thoughts on why Big Auto has failed so spectacularly in the e-bike industry.
And he certainly isn’t short on examples.
Legendary American automotive visionary Lee Iacocca was all-in on electric bikes as far back as the 1990s. He pushed for the EV Global electric bicycle (seen above), which was so revolutionary at its time that it had the word “e-bike” emblazoned across the side to let people know what it was. The e-bike started at a modest $995 and could hit 15 mph (25 km/h) all the way back in 1997 – a speed that Europeans still haven’t figured out how to surpass nearly 30 years later.
But as Benjamin explained, even automotive great Lee Iacocca couldn’t make e-bikes work for car companies. As it turned out, the deck was stacked against him. No matter how much he wanted his e-bikes to succeed, it didn’t translate into sales at car dealerships. The $1,000 price meant that car salesmen working on commission couldn’t be bothered to sell them, certainly not when they stood to make a lot more money pushing someone into a Taurus or F150. Dealerships also quickly learned that there wasn’t money to be made in servicing e-bikes when the same car bay could turn over significantly more cash.
Ford continued with global e-bike attempts into the early 2000s but was met with either quick failures or extremely slow, limited sales.
In Asia, giants such as Honda, Panasonic, and Yamaha were also met with limited success, though the limited Japanese market was one area where their early e-bikes did succeed. Panasonic was able to sell its e-bike drive system, but that agreement was largely led by the bicycle company Giant taking the reins and using its bike industry experience to set the partnership up for success.
Yamaha, it should be pointed out, actually created the first production electric bicycle as far back as 1993, though that early model also only took off in Japan while failing to gather meaningful traction in the rest of the world.
Yamaha is one of the few success stories to date, still producing impressive e-bikes, though the company famously spins its non-auto products off into their own companies. I think we can all accept that the engineers designing Yamaha’s motorcycles aren’t heavily involved in Yamaha’s pianos or biomedical products.
Harley-Davidson shocked the industry back in 2018 with its beautiful electric bike designs. Still, it ultimately spun the project out as an independent company, Serial One, that failed to achieve strong sales. The e-bike company was eventually sold off to another bicycle company, which is currently attempting to revive the Serial One brand.
In many of these cases, the actual product was quite impressive. Harley’s Serial One e-bikes often scored great reviews, despite not sticking the landing with sales.
It’s a tough cycle that has continued to repeat itself, with Benjamin explaining his belief that it comes down to the same root causes, “my opinion: The pain and failure has usually been when an engineering culture, proud of their creation, has turned the bikes over to a sales culture that did not truly understand or believe in the product.”
That might explain why plenty of new e-bikes bearing automotive company names released in the last few years were merely licensing deals, such as Jeep’s e-bike built by Quietkat, Hummer’s e-bike built by Recon Power Bikes, Polestar’s e-bike built by Allebike, Toyota’s e-bike built by DOUZE cycles, and Ducati’s e-bikes built by Thok Bikes, among others.
GM was one of the few companies to build an impressive electric bike entirely in-house, but the project came at the worst possible time as COVID was blamed for killing off the GM e-bike before it could succeed.
With decades of examples, you might think automakers would have given up on the dream of building and selling their own electric bikes. But that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Several major companies are still trying to develop their own models, with some even doubling down on their investments.
Porsche is one example, with the company recently buying e-bike motor manufacturers and entire e-bike companies in an attempt to bring more e-bike expertise under the Porsche nameplate.
Rivian, the US-based electric truck maker, has also significantly expanded its e-bike development team with hires from major bicycle companies. The CEO also explicitly stated the company has its eyes on an e-bike model, though didn’t share any details about the direction Rivian’s e-bike could be headed.
All of this is to say that despite automakers consistently trying and failing to bring their own e-bikes to market, one thing is crystal clear: they sure aren’t giving up.
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Environment
Podcast: Apple CarPlay in Tesla cars, VW on Superchargers, Toyota electric pickup, and more
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Apple CarPlay possibly coming to Tesla cars, VW getting access to Superchargers, a Toyota electric pickup, and more.
The show is live every Friday at 4 p.m. ET on Electrek’s YouTube channel.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 4:00 p.m. ET (or the video after 5 p.m. ET:
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US EV sales declined in October following the expiration of the $7,500 federal tax credit on September 30, and the average transaction price (ATP) edged up, according to initial estimates from Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive brand. However, there are still deals to be had.
Kelley Blue Book’s initial estimates show that US EV sales fell to 74,835 in October, down 48.9% from September, which was a record month, and 30.3% year-over-year.
Prices also ticked up. The average transaction price (ATP) for a new EV climbed 1.6% month-over-month to $59,125, which is 2.3% higher than a year ago.
Tesla didn’t escape the downturn, but it held up better than the overall EV market. The company’s ATP fell 1.1% from September to $53,526, and its prices are 5.5% lower than they were in October 2024. Sales of the Model 3 and Model Y both declined month-over-month, and overall Tesla sales decreased by 35.3% from September and 23.6% year-over-year, which are smaller declines compared to the broader EV segment.
Cox Automotive senior analyst Stephanie Valdez Streaty said the shift wasn’t surprising:
We expected this shift in the electric vehicle market. With the IRA-backed sales incentives gone, lower-cost EV volume was hit hard, pushing the mix toward more luxury and driving October’s EV ATP to a 2025 high of $59,125 – now $9,359 above the industry average. Affordability has always been the core challenge with EV sales, and this reset only underscores how critical it is to bring more attainable EV options to market.
Electrek’s Take
September was a record-breaking month for both EV deals and sales. Dealers were offering all sorts of sweet incentives to stack with the federal tax credit to move cars off the lot. October’s sales drop was entirely anticipated, like a pounding headache after a big blowout party.
We didn’t know what the post-federal tax credit EV market would look like. As Valdez Streaty rightly states, EVs do have a higher ATP than the industry average. But it turns out that, so far, it’s not all doom and gloom, and the federal tax credit isn’t the only incentive in town.
Every month, I compile great EV lease deals, and for the last few months, some EVs’ monthly lease payments have been cheaper than before the federal tax credit expired. Many states are still offering rebates on EV purchases, and dealers still have really good deals. While cheaper models would definitely be welcome, there are good deals available right now.
And let’s not forget the fact that EVs are much cheaper to drive than gas cars, with or without that tax credit.
Read more: From $189 a month: 5 of the best EV lease deals in November [Updated]
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The Oshkosh-built Striker Volterra Electric Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighter (ARFF) packs advanced battery technology to deliver ultra-fast emergency response performance no matter how long it needs to be in action — and Dallas Fort Worth International Airport just put six of the awesome 6×6 machines to work!
Oshkosh has been manufacturing ARFF vehicles since it first launched the MB-5 for use by the US Navy back in 1968, and they’ve been pushing the envelope of disaster response performance ever since. The company’s latest ARFF, the Striker Volterra Electric shown here, features a slanted body with front bumper designed for maneuvering through the ditches and rough terrain they might encounter on a damaged runway. It’s also big — but it’s big for a purpose. Because ARFF vehicles don’t have to navigate the confines of city streets, they can be built bigger, carry more water, more rescue equipment, and more personnel than conventional fire trucks.
As the newest members of the DFW Fire-Rescue fleet, these Striker Volterra Electric ARFF vehicles represent a significant step in DFW’s broader plan to replace its legacy fleet with a modern, electrified response system, while also making DFW the largest Striker Volterra Electric ARFF fleet operator in the US.
“Enhancing performance by reducing response times is the key driver of transitioning to these new vehicles,” said Daniel White, DFW Fire-Rescue Chief. “The Striker Volterra vehicles are faster and more agile than our current fleet. Because they are also safe for our firefighters and conscious for the environment, this investment represents a rare win-win-win, delivering operational benefits while ensuring the safety of our responders and the community we serve.”
The Striker Volterra Electric 6×6 ARFF uses a proprietary Oshkosh electric powertrain and an electro-mechanical infinitely variable transmission (read: CVT) paired to an integrated diesel generator. The setup enables zero-emission electric operation during normal station entry, standby, and low-speed tasks, eliminating firefighter exposure to their ARFF’s diesel exhaust 99% of the time. For sustained high-power demands during active fire suppression, the system seamlessly draws from both the battery and generator, ensuring uninterrupted pumping power and performance without operator intervention.
“Our commitment goes far beyond delivering a vehicle,” said Travis Ownby, sales specialist with Siddons-Martin Emergency Group. “It’s about helping departments like DFW Fire-Rescue lead the way in operational excellence and sustainability. We’re proud to support their mission with the Striker Volterra Electric ARFF vehicles.”
The addition of the Striker Volterra Electric ARFF vehicles also supports DFW’s transition to fluorine-free firefighting foam in line with FAA guidance and the industry’s move away from PFAS-based agents for a more environmentally responsible response capability across the airport.
Electrek’s Take
With the relatively short distances driven and extreme loads involved, airports present a nearly ideal use case for battery-electric vehicles in general, and their immediate off-the-line torque, improved efficiency, and ability to operate much more quietly than diesels (facilitating emergency crews’ communications) could make all the difference in an emergency situation where lives are quite literally on the line.
Plus, as demand for on-road fossil fuels drops, airports and airlines (historically responsible for about 4% Earth’s global warming) are becoming a bigger and bigger slice of a rapidly shrinking pie when it comes to fossil fuel emissions. Or, as OshKosk put it, “As airports continue to prioritize sustainability and operational efficiency, the Striker Volterra electric ARFF stands out as a forward-thinking solution that meets today’s demands while preparing for tomorrow’s challenges.”
It’s a bit pitchy, but I couldn’t agree more.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Oshkosh.
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