Ducati will not launch an electric powered bike for buyers at any time before long, generating the motorbike producer an outlier in Volkswagen AG’s €89 billion ($94 billion) force to electrify its steady of companies.
The Italian brand will be the sole producer of e-bikes racing in the FIM Enel MotoE Entire world Cup this 12 months and presented its initially electric powered motorcycle prototype for the job in June. But Jason Chinnock, main executive officer of Ducati’s North American operations, claimed the firm even now has operate to do bettering battery variety and effectiveness ahead of an e-bicycle will be completely ready for showrooms.
“It’s going to be some a long time,” Chinnock informed Bloomberg Television on Thursday. “The battery technological know-how really is not there.”
Chinnock’s view contrasts not only with VW’s embrace of batteries for electric passenger cars, but with rival Harley-Davidson Inc.’s enthusiasm for e-bikes. Harley launched the LiveWire — its first plug-in design — in 2019 and executed a spinoff of its electrical motorcycle division very last 12 months, merging it with a exclusive function acquisition corporation to type LiveWire Team Inc.
Electrification is hitting the motorbike section a lot more erratically than it is passenger vehicles. When Honda Motor Co. a short while ago declared ideas to roll out at least 10 versions globally by 2025, BMW AG has so considerably only unveiled notion bikes.
As 1 of the four manufacturers less than Volkswagen’s top quality team that shares investigate and output sources, Ducati is exploring alternative fuels and other technologies to minimize its carbon footprint.
“There isn’t a buyer bike straight in improvement for the reason that this is still so early,” Chinnock stated. “It’s actually going to consider battery tech to evolve.”
“Once that is developed to the place where it can make feeling for us to combine it in, wherever we can tackle effectiveness and range and weight, which is the trifecta,” Chinnock mentioned. “It however requirements to be distinctly a Ducati.”
