The era of "electric motorcycle" is coming? | Reporter Observation

"The electrification development path of motorcycles will be exactly the same as that of electric vehicles, and the current penetration rate of electric motorcycles is still very low, which will be a blue ocean for the future development of the industry." Recently, HORWIN founder and CEO Zhou Wei In an interview with China Business News and other media, he said.

Outside the number is a new brand released by Changzhou Haowan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Haowan New Energy"), a two-wheeled electric vehicle startup company, in July this year. Haowan New Energy was registered and established in 2016. At the beginning of its development, the company chose to verify its technology, products and business models in the European market. This year, Waihao decided to enter the domestic market.

Zhou Wei told reporters that I think now is the right time to enter the domestic market. Relying on the vigorous development of electric vehicles in China, consumer education, related supply chains and infrastructure are becoming more and more mature. Therefore, from this perspective, the development speed of domestic electric motorcycles may be faster than that of electric vehicles.

In addition, the gradual clarification of the development trend of motorcycle electrification has also given foreigners confidence.

Since the beginning of this year, domestic and international motorcycle manufacturers have announced plans for electrification development. In June this year, Zipse, chairman of the BMW Group, said that from 2030, the BMW motorcycle urban travel series will be fully electrified. Honda announced in September that production of two-wheeled gasoline cars would be discontinued in the mid-2040s, and the new cars would be converted to pure electric motorcycles. The Harley-Davidson electric motorcycle division was successfully listed independently at the end of September this year, becoming the first publicly listed electric motorcycle company in the United States. Chunfeng Power, a domestic motorcycle listed company, also announced the development strategy of "intelligence + electrification" in September.

In recent years, electric motorcycles have become a new growth pole in the motorcycle industry. Cinda Securities pointed out in a research report that in 2021, the total sales of electric motorcycles in my country will reach 3.94 million units, a year-on-year increase of 71.77%; from 2019 to 2021, the total annual sales of electric motorcycles in my country will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 44.11%. Cinda Securities predicts that the electrification of motorcycles is the general trend, and the sales and market share of electric motorcycles in my country will maintain a rapid increase in the future.

Liu Ping, co-founder and COO of Waihao, predicts that the current penetration rate of electric motorcycles in China is 20%, which will increase to 50% in 2027. In overseas markets, the electric penetration rate of motorcycles is 5%-8%, and it will increase to 20%-30% in the next few years.

For Chinese car companies, the new energy track is an opportunity to "change lanes and overtake". Liu Ping told Yicai.com that this is also an excellent opportunity for Chinese motorcycle companies to catch up with overseas manufacturers. "In the field of fuel motorcycles, whether it is an engine or a gearbox, there is still a big gap between us and overseas manufacturers, which also makes overseas brands have a high premium. But in terms of electrification, whether it is new or old Players, big and small brands, are all on the same starting line, and we have the opportunity to reconstruct the industrial chain and redefine motorcycles.”

However, in the early stage of the development of electric motorcycles, the high cost is still one of the important factors hindering the development of the industry. The price of electric motorcycles with the same performance on the market is almost 2 to 3 times that of gasoline motorcycles. Recently, the first product released by Haowai in China, the Senmenti 0 terminal, starts at 126,800 yuan.

In this regard, Liu Ping explained that for electric bicycles, the industrial chain is already very mature, but the industrial chain of high-performance electric motorcycles needs to be reshaped, and the cost is very high. On the other hand, electric motorcycles also require high investment in the early stage.

Lai Minjie, CEO of Chunfeng Power, also told the media that from an industrial point of view, the manufacturing cost of electric motorcycles will take about 3 to 5 years to be equal to that of fuel motorcycles.