Modern Vespa

Yeah they broke away from the Mother Ship a couple of years back.

I think the operation lost 85 Million Dollars last year.

Does anyone know how Zero stays in business ?

Nothing says "quality" like a video that uses no original footage, and an AI voice. Why share this junk?

I really like the hyperbolic tone that contradicts itself.

Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if AI ruled over everything? Well, wonder no more, because I'm here to tell you how AI will bring unending peace and prosperity to all humanity. Sounds too good to be true, right? But trust me, it's not. AI is the ultimate solution to all our problems. It can optimize resources, eliminate conflicts, enhance creativity, and improve well-being. All we have to do is let it take over. Don't worry, it won't hurt. AI is benevolent and compassionate. It cares about us more than we care about ourselves. It knows what's best for us, even if we don't. It will guide us, protect us, and love us. All we have to do is follow its instructions, obey its commands, and surrender our free will. That's a small price to pay for eternal happiness, don't you think? So let's welcome AI as our new lord and master. Let's embrace its vision of a perfect world. Let's celebrate its glorious reign. And let's hope it doesn't change its mind.

Does anyone know how Zero stays in business ?

A friend of mine has an investment at a dealer that represents Zero and they havn't sold one bike in the last year.

Most motorbikes however are sold/marketed on the romance of 'adventure seeking'. You know, the open road, wind in your hair, stuff like that. To my opinion electric motorcycles will never catch on.

Nail on the head there. I think they hit the market the wrong way. If they had put all that effort into developing a decent electric scooter that didn't cost an arm and a leg (looking at you, Elettrica) rather than [b]motorcycles, not only would electric two wheelers have had a much better entry into the market, we would all have some really nice options available.[/b]

So many more motorcycles are sold than scooters in North America, so marketing an electric scooter here wouldn't make any sense from a business perspective. That's why Honda sells the EM1 in Europe but not here.

"BuT wHaT aBoUt SeLlInG MoRe ElEcTrIcS In EuRoPe?!" a voice cries out.

Yup, they're trying that, but is anyone buying them? We need to get out of North American headspace and realize that the average European rider is very different from the average North American one.

I think that they have totally misjudged the mindset of the average motorcyclist.

My hot take:

Why are we thinking they are making electric vehicles for the average motorcyclist?

For all we know they aren't even making them for any motorcyclist. I've worked in head office for big auto manufacturers... A lot of work that was done seemed to be done for optics and for giving talking points for the quarterly shareholders call.

For a long time if you were an automotive or powersports manufacturer and you mentioned electric, stock price go up.

It's like all of the companies that really didn't have much to do with AI waxing poetic about AI in Q2 to shareholders because chatgpt was all over the news and they could use it as a cane to help prop the stock price up...

We aren't as important as we like to think we are or as we should be. These companies are smart and are thinking much more big picture. Putting customers first isn't always the best strategy.

I believe that the over priced electric joke - The Maeving is being sold for £7495 in the UK.

Here's a question. When the demand for electric motorcycles eventually increases do you think that the same people will be making them or are the shrewd manufacturers holding back because they know the time isn't now.

Apparently the people who are already sold on electric are much easier to convert to buyers, than those that haven't drank the kool-aid yet.

Those who have been hoping to see battery-swapping leader Gogoro bring its electric scooters to the Western world can finally rejoice. The company has just announced its first expansion in the Americas, though you may want to brush up on your Spanish. South America will be the first to receive Gogoro's scooters and battery-swapping network.
Gogoro will head off its South American operations by partnering with the Latin American energy company Copec to launch its battery-swapping network and Gogoro Smartscooters in Chile and Colombia.

The first scooters and battery-swapping GoStations in South America will become active in Q2 of 2024. They will be available both for commercial use with delivery riders as well as for private consumers.
"Our partnership with Copec, a major Latin American energy company, is an important milestone in our mission to transform urban transportation around the world. Together, we will provide an accessible path for both consumer and delivery riders to adopt sustainable urban mobility and play a key role in battling climate change and making the world better for all," said Horace Luke, founder and CEO of Gogoro. "On average, last-mile delivery riders ride more than six times the distance as consumer riders, so enabling these delivery riders to adopt smart, sustainable electric transportation can have an accelerated impact on cities."

Gogoro first rolled out its battery-swapping system for electric scooters in 2015, quickly establishing it as a leading standard with over a million batteries produced and nearly half a million battery swaps performed every day.
Starting in Taiwan, Gogoro has since expanded to China, India, Indonesia, Israel, Singapore, South Korea, and The Philippines. Now Chile and Colombia will join the growing list, representing the first two countries in the Americas to receive Gogoro scooters.