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Headlining today’s Green Deals is a two-week Rad Power Memorial Day sale that is taking up to $600 off three e-bikes, while also offering free extra battery promos as well – starting with the RadRover 6 Plus High-Step Fat-Tire e-bike at $999. It is joined by a rare discount on the all-black Hover-1 Instinct Electric Bike, as well as the multi-color model, all starting from $715. And to round out the main deals, the Greenworks 48V 21-inch Cordless Self-Propelled Lawn Mower, 24V 320 CFM Leaf Blower, and a 24V 12-inch String Trimmer with two 5.0Ah batteries has fallen to $488. Plus, all the other hangover Green Deals that are still alive and well.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Rad Power Memorial Day sale takes up to $600 off e-bikes and offers free extra batteries – starting from $999

Rad Power Bikes has launched its Memorial Day sale through May 29 that is taking up to $600 off three of its e-bikes, while also giving you a free extra battery for two of the models. Leading the sale is the RadRover 6 Plus High-Step Fat-Tire e-bike for $999 shipped. Usually going for $1,599 since the company lowered prices across its lineup of models, this e-bike has seen three previous flash sales since the new year began, with the most recent one in April dropping costs to $1,099. Today’s deal comes in as a new all-time low, amounting to a $600 markdown off the going rate. You can learn more about this model by heading below the fold or checking out our hands-on review.

Nicknamed Rad Power’s “beast of a bike,” the RadRover 6 Plus reaches a 20 MPH top speed for up to 45 miles on a single charge thanks to its 750W brushless geared hub motor working in tandem with the semi-integrated 672Wh battery. Sporting a 12-magnet cadence sensor, this e-bike has five levels of pedal assistance to choose from, accessible through the full digital display that also gives you real-time performance data like battery levels or a wattage meter to keep track of the motor’s output. Should you take the roads less traveled (often off the paved paths), this model is ready and willing with its water-resistant connectors and wiring harness, as well as a pair of 26-inch by 4-inch puncture-resistant fat tires with fenders over each.

Next is the RadExpand 5 Folding e-bike for $1,249 shipped, plus the free extra battery (just be sure to add both items to your cart so the discount can be automatically applied). It has the same combination motor and battery to reach a 20 MPH speed for 45+ miles on a single charge, which can vary depending on your travelling conditions, but is also doubled with your extra battery. This model only comes with four levels of low-profile cadence sensing pedal assistance, along with features like a water-resistant wiring harness, a standard LED headlight, an integrated taillight with a brake light indicator functionality, an integrated rear storage rack, fenders for both tires, and a simple LED display. As the name suggests, its folding frame makes space saving far easier when not in use.

Then there is the RadRunner Plus Utility e-bike for $1,599 shipped, down from $1,799 and coming with the same free extra battery deal. Equipped with the same 750W motor and 672Wh battery, it can match the RadExpand 5’s speed and mileage (doubled with the extra battery too). Its five levels of normal pedal assistance are joined by a bonus zero level for manual pedaling (if you want to get in some cardio). Its taillights have the added ability to go into flash mode for more obvious illumination at night or when parking, an integrated cargo rack that can double as passenger seating, and it has an included 7-speed Shimano derailleur for when you go manual.

Hover-1 Instinct Electric Bikes start from $715

Amazon is offering the Hover-1 Instinct Electric Bike for $763.59 shipped in black, after clipping the on-page 15% off coupon. Already down from its usual $1,000 price tag, this particular model hasn’t seen quite as many discounts like its multi-color counterpart, having spent much of 2024 so far hovering near or around its MSRP after starting the year off by riding in on its $596 low from leftover Christmas sales. Today you can grab this model for one of the lowest prices we’ve seen as a combined $236 markdown, making it a much more affordable commuting option for those on a budget. The blue model is still sitting at its MSRP, while the multi-color model can be found for $715 currently.

The Hover-1 Instinct sports a smaller 350W brushless motor than we usually see with a lot of e-bikes these days, but with its removable 36V battery you’re still getting one hell of an affordable commuting option with 40 miles of travel range on a single charge, albeit with only a 15 MPH top speed. With each ride, you can choose between using the throttle for pure electric action (though this will decrease mileage) or one of its three pedal assistance levels – and if you want to get some low-stress exercise, the lower levels provide only a little extra power as opposed to its highest level setting. It also features 26-inch pneumatic tires, front and rear disc brakes, and an LCD digital display that gives real-time readouts for speed, battery level, mileage, pedal assist level, ride time, and more.

Greenworks 48V mower, 24V blower, and 24V trimmer combo falls to $488

Amazon is offering the Greenworks 48V 21-inch Cordless Self-Propelled Lawn Mower, 24V 320 CFM Leaf Blower, and a 24V 12-inch String Trimmer with two 5.0Ah batteries for $487.99 shipped. Down from its $610 price tag, this is a smaller voltage combo than we’ve seen more regularly discounted in the new year, having only had two major discounts since 2024 began, first to $488, then to the $487 low last month. Today’s deal repeats its first discount from February as a 20% markdown that drops costs to the second-lowest price we have tracked – only $1 above the all-time low.

The lawn mower sports 48V of power with its brushless motor and two 5.0Ah batteries (which are also compatible for the other tools in the combo as well), giving you around an hour of runtime on a single charge – though this timeframe may vary depending on terrain conditions and operator techniques. It has the usual seven-position height adjustment as well as the 3-in-1 functionality to mulch, rear bag, or side discharge clippings. The leaf blower offers 320 CFM at 90 MPH for up to 20 minutes on a single battery’s charge, while the string trimmer provides a 12-inch cutting path with an auto-feed system to replace broken lines as you go for less stop-start distractions.

Spring e-bike deals!

Jetson Canyon Folding Electric Scooter being ridden along boardwalk with ocean in background, within post for Rad Power e-bikes

Other new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.

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Wheel-E Podcast: Lectric XP4, new RadRunners, Tariff troubles, more

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May 9, 2025

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Wheel-E Podcast: Lectric XP4, new RadRunners, Tariff troubles, more

Wheel-E Podcast by Electrek

This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time, that includes the launch of the Lectric XP4 e-bike, a new set of RadRunners from Rad Power Bikes, California’s e-bike voucher program hits more hurdles, the effect of Trump tariffs on several e-bike and e-moto companies, and more.

The Wheel-E podcast returns every two weeks on Electrek’s YouTube channel, Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter.

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, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:

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We also have a Patreon if you want to help us to 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 Wheel-E podcast today:

Here’s the live stream for today’s episode starting at 8:00 a.m. ET (or the video after 9:00 a.m. ET):

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AUSA adds new, rough terrain electric forklift to its line of construction EVs

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May 9, 2025

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AUSA adds new, rough terrain electric forklift to its line of construction EVs

Ausa Rolls Out First Electric Rough-Terrain Forklift, New Reversible Dumper

Last month’s bauma event in Germany was so big that the industry hive mind is still trying to digest everything it saw – and that includes these new, rough terrain electric material handlers from Spanish equipment brand AUSA!

AUSA calls itself, “the global manufacturer of compact all-terrain machines for the transportation and handling of material,” and backs that claim up by delivering more than 12,000 units to customers each year. Now, the company hopes to add to that number with the launch of the C151E rough-terrain electric forklift, which takes its rightful place alongside AUSA’s electric telehandler and 101/151 lines of mini dumpers.

The C151 features a 15.5 kWh li-ion battery pack good for “one intense shift” worth of work, sending electrons to a 19.5 kW (approx. 25 hp) electric motor and the associated forks, tilt cylinders, etc. Charging is through a “standard” CCS L1/2 AC port, which can recharge the big electric forklift to 80% in about 2.5 hours.

Looked at another way: even if you drive the battery to nearly nothing, the AUSA can be charged up during a lunch break or shift change and ready to work again as soon as you reach for it.

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AUSA electric forklift charging

The 6,040 lb. (empty) AUSA C151E has a 3,000-pound maximum load capacity and a maximum lift height just over 13 feet.

“It is an ideal tool for working in emission-free spaces such as greenhouses, municipal night works, enclosed spaces, etc.,” reads AUSA’s press material. “It can be used in more applications than a traditional rough terrain forklift, offering greater performance as a result.”

Electrek’s Take

AUSA C151E electric rough terrain forklift; via AUSA.
AUSA C151E electric rough terrain forklift; via AUSA.

AUSA’s messaging is spot-on here: because you can use the C151E – in fact, any electric equipment asset – is a broader set of environments and circumstances than a diesel asset, you can earn more work, get a higher utilization rate, and maximize not only your fuel savings, but generate income you couldn’t generate without it.

“More, more, and more” is how a smart fleet operator is looking at battery power right now, and that’s the angle, not the “messy middle,” that the industry needs to be talking about.

SOURCE | IMAGES: AUSA, via Equipment World.

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The aluminum sector isn’t moving to the U.S. despite tariffs — due to one key reason

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May 9, 2025

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The aluminum sector isn't moving to the U.S. despite tariffs — due to one key reason

HAWESVILLE, KY – May 10

Plant workers drive along an aluminum potline at Century Aluminum Company’s Hawesville plant in Hawesville, Ky. on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. (Photo by Luke Sharrett /For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Aluminum

The Washington Post | The Washington Post | Getty Images

Sweeping tariffs on imported aluminum imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump are succeeding in reshaping global trade flows and inflating costs for American consumers, but are falling short of their primary goal: to revive domestic aluminum production.

Instead, rising costs, particularly skyrocketing electricity prices in the U.S. relative to global competitors, are leading to smelter closures rather than restarts.

The impact of aluminum tariffs at 25% is starkly visible in the physical aluminum market. While benchmark aluminum prices on the London Metal Exchange provide a global reference, the actual cost of acquiring the metal involves regional delivery premiums.

This premium now largely reflects the tariff cost itself.

In stark contrast, European premiums were noted by JPMorgan analysts as being over 30% lower year-to-date, creating a significant divergence driven directly by U.S. trade policy.

This cost will ultimately be borne by downstream users, according to Trond Olaf Christophersen, the chief financial officer of Norway-based Hydro, one of the world’s largest aluminum producers. The company was formerly known as Norsk Hydro.

“It’s very likely that this will end up as higher prices for U.S. consumers,” Christophersen told CNBC, noting the tariff cost is a “pass-through.” Shares of Hydro have collapsed by around 17% since tariffs were imposed.

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The downstream impact of the tariffs is already being felt by Thule Group, a Hydro customer that makes cargo boxes fitted atop cars. The company said it’ll raise prices by about 10% even though it manufactures the majority of the goods sold in the U.S locally, as prices of raw materials, such as steel and aluminum, have shot up.

But while tariffs are effectively leading to prices rise in the U.S., they haven’t spurred a revival in domestic smelting, the energy-intensive process of producing primary aluminum.

The primary barrier remains the lack of access to competitively priced, long-term power, according to the industry.

“Energy costs are a significant factor in the overall production cost of a smelter,” said Ami Shivkar, principal analyst of aluminum markets at analytics firm Wood Mackenzie.  “High energy costs plague the US aluminium industry, forcing cutbacks and closures.”

“Canadian, Norwegian, and Middle Eastern aluminium smelters typically secure long-term energy contracts or operate captive power generation facilities. US smelter capacity, however, largely relies on short-term power contracts, placing it at a disadvantage,” Shivkar added, noting that energy costs for U.S. aluminum smelters were about $550 per tonne compared to $290 per tonne for Canadian smelters.

Recent events involving major U.S. producers underscore this power vulnerability.

In March 2023, Alcoa Corp announced the permanent closure of its 279,000 metric ton Intalco smelter, which had been idle since 2020. Alcoa said that the facility “cannot be competitive for the long-term,” partly because it “lacks access to competitively priced power.”

Similarly, in June 2022, Century Aluminum, the largest U.S. primary aluminum producer, was forced to temporarily idle its massive Hawesville, Kentucky smelter – North America’s largest producer of military-grade aluminum – citing a “direct result of skyrocketing energy costs.”

Century stated the power cost required to run the facility had “more than tripled the historical average in a very short period,” necessitating a curtailment expected to last nine to twelve months until prices normalized.

The industry has also not had a respite as demand for electricity from non-industrial sources has risen in recent years.

Hydro’s Christophersen pointed to the artificial intelligence boom and the proliferation of data centers as new competitors for power. He suggested that new energy production capacity in the U.S., from nuclear, wind or solar, is being rapidly consumed by the tech sector.

“The tech sector, they have a much higher ability to pay than the aluminium industry,” he said, noting the high double-digit margins of the tech sector compared to the often low single-digit margins at aluminum producers. Hydro reported an 8.3% profit margin in the first quarter of 2025, an increase from the 3.5% it reported for the previous quarter, according to Factset data.

“Our view, and for us to build a smelter [in the U.S.], we would need cheap power. We don’t see the possibility in the current market to get that,” the CFO added. “The lack of competitive power is the reason why we don’t think that would be interesting for us.”

How the massive power draw of generative AI is overtaxing our grid

While failing to ignite domestic primary production, the tariffs are undeniably causing what Christophersen termed a “reshuffling of trade flows.”

When U.S. market access becomes more costly or restricted, metal flows to other destinations.

Christophersen described a brief period when exceptionally high U.S. tariffs on Canadian aluminum — 25% additional tariffs on top of the aluminum-specific tariffs — made exporting to Europe temporarily more attractive for Canadian producers. Consequently, more European metals would have made their way into the U.S. market to make up for the demand gap vacated by Canadian aluminum.

The price impact has even extended to domestic scrap metal prices, which have adjusted upwards in line with the tariff-inflated Midwest premium.

Hydro, also the world’s largest aluminum extruder, utilizes both domestic scrap and imported Canadian primary metal in its U.S. operations. The company makes products such as window frames and facades in the country through extrusion, which is the process of pushing aluminum through a die to create a specific shape.

“We are buying U.S. scrap [aluminium]. A local raw material. But still, the scrap prices now include, indirectly, the tariff cost,” Christophersen explained. “We pay the tariff cost in reality, because the scrap price adjusts to the Midwest premium.”

“We are paying the tariff cost, but we quickly pass it on, so it’s exactly the same [for us],” he added.

RBC Capital Markets analysts confirmed this pass-through mechanism for Hydro’s extrusions business, saying “typically higher LME prices and premiums will be passed onto the customer.”

This pass-through has occurred amid broader market headwinds, particularly downstream among Hydro’s customers.

RBC highlighted the “weak spot remains the extrusion divisions” in Hydro’s recent results and noted a guidance downgrade, reflecting sluggish demand in sectors like building and construction.

— CNBC’s Greg Kennedy contributed reporting.

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