Lower Price Helps Early EV Adoption: $7,200 for Electric Motorcycle

[FayeforCure]

Inertia Brammo Price Cut.  Inertia seems to have take a cue from this well observe fact that by cutting the price of its electric motorcycle from $12,000 to 8,000, making it 7,200 after tax rebates, sales will increase.  You can go and see them at some Best Buy stores across the nation.  Check first with your local store, the website does not make it easy to see where the motorcycles are.

The whole industry seems to be poised for the demand to climb in order to boost production that will give lower prices.  The problems with that is that in the meantime companies wait and consumers loose patience and faith, thus the overuse of PR and marketing pitches some companies indulge with.

SolarCity Solar Panels.  Another smart company that understands the need to act now to be the first on the market is SolarCity.  By leasing its solar panels and taking an ingenious advantage of California local tax incentives, the company can lease its panels to early adopters who will break even in a few years and also achieves making a name for itself early on.  That leaves SolarCity as an important solar panel company with the biggest market share at its finger tips.

According to Inertia's press release, the company is aggressively positioning themselves as a leader in the EV industry.  By taking a lesser margin today, they stand to win big tomorrow with early brand recognition.  You cannot put a price on that.

http://www.examiner.com/x-7226-Electric-Car-Examiner~y2009m11d18-Lower-price-help-early-EV-adoption

[CS Foltz]

Nice first effort Ms Faye....limiting factor is range and weight but has potential with developement! At this point probably just fine as an intercity transportation vehicle but somewhat limited outside city! I would like to test ride one just to compare it to my Triumph 955I......next time I go by a Best Buy might wheel in and look closer.

[Joe]

I agree with Foltz. Good potential, but it's not there yet.

60mph with only a 42 mile (!!!) average range isn't really good enough for the average consumer. Light city driving only.

This puts it in the market against Vespas and scooters, not true motorcycles. Consequently, the $7,000 price tag (which is competitive against motorcycles) is still way too high when you consider it's really filling the function of a powerful scooter.

[FayeforCure]

Joe, I think there definitely is a market among younger folks:

Urban Sprawl and Miles Driven Daily by Teenagers in the United ...American Journal of Preventive Medicine ... The association between daily miles driven by teens and sprawl, controlling for demographic ... Of the 52% of teens who reported driving, the average distance driven was 15.6 miles/day. ...
linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0749379707007064 - Similar
by MJ Trowbridge - 2008 - Cited by 3 - Related articles

This forum is particularly fond of rail due to nostalgia, but the real reasons for rail today are well summarized here:

The emergence of new construction projects for mass transit has come from the presidential initiative to increase the construction and use of alternative transportation to cut emissions and create jobs. Currently, emissions from cars contribute 88.4% of the US share of carbon dioxide, 56% of all carbon monoxide, and 55% of our share of oxides of nitrogen. Currently, the total highway system mileage (distance measured in miles) has increased steadily since 1975 to 4.016 million miles of roads, which handle a steady increase in national miles driven year after year.  However, transit rail miles, which includes commuter rail, has surged and ebbed to settle at 6,972 miles of track in 2006.

http://www.project.org/info.php?recordID=146

Joe, the 42 mile range for the electric motor cycle actually compares favorably to the average daily driving Americans do: 32 miles per day.

CSFoltz, let me know if you find one at Best Buy and how you like it. I've always loved British built Triumphs,...........you should definitely keep it for special occasions

[Joe]

Faye, I think you missed my point.

For those people who are interested in a sub 60mph, sub 50 mile range vehicle they can still buy a motor-scooter for less than 1/2 or 1/3 the price. The $7000 price tag only seems competitive because they are trying to compare it to a full-fledged motorcycle, which it is not.

I'm not saying there isn't a market for short-range city scooters. I'm saying that this particular product is significantly more expensive than the numerous viable alternatives already available.

[FayeforCure]

Faye, I think you missed my point.

For those people who are interested in a sub 60mph, sub 50 mile range vehicle they can still buy a motor-scooter for less than 1/2 or 1/3 the price. The $7000 price tag only seems competitive because they are trying to compare it to a full-fledged motorcycle, which it is not.

I'm not saying there isn't a market for short-range city scooters. I'm saying that this particular product is significantly more expensive than the numerous viable alternatives already available.

OK understood. I guess the electric motorcycles would look cooler than the scooters?

As an aside, in Europe all teenagers ride a scooter since legal driving age is 18 and up for cars, and scooters can be had at age 16.

[CS Foltz]

Cool factor is definitely part of the equation Ms Faye......marketing for an "Electric" Motorcycle will have to be outside of the box for sure or gas will have to go way way up! Joe hit the nail on the head as to the speed and range issue. Best Buy in my world did not have one to look at but had the same picture you posted. Like I said before.............needs development.  Lithium Ion batteries are old hat but still being used today......next generation is heading towards Lithium Polymer which are much lighter since the case does not need to be so heavy but time will tell!