BMW Motorrad chief executive Stephan Schaller has poured scorn on devout disciples of the e-bike faith who expect his brand to pray exclusively at the same altar, in a recent interview with leading Italian magazine Motociclismo.
“The electric motorbike does not interest us,” he asserted. “We are betting everything on scooters. Electric PTWs will grow but I believe that their diffusion will be limited mainly to urban use. Basically, they will be scooters like our C-Evolution or the Concept Link prototype presented in 2017. I’m convinced that we will see a significant increase in the sales of these models, not electric motorcycles.”
In Schaller’s opinion, any vision about the spread of ePTWs beyond cityscapes has to be restricted by range, cost and lack of autonomy. And while BMW might be keen on the commercial potential of battery-dependent electric scooters, he remains circumspect about the current obvious alternative offered by hybrids.
“Our target is to double the mileage possible over the next couple of years and we are working hard in this direction, primarily through weight reduction,” he explained. “Our C-Evolution is heavy at 275kg but the production Concept Link will be much lighter and a better compromise between range and maximum performance. As for hybrids, we know the technology to make it happen and we already have a prototype running on our test tracks. But the question is always the same — as the final price inevitably increases, will the customer accept it?”
However, Schaller is sure that BMW Motorrad won’t be abandoning supremacy for the internal combustion engine in its distance-munching motorcycle products any time soon.
“Building an electric bike it is certainly not an insurmountable technological challenge — you can solve every problem,” he added. “But large motorcycles and our GS adventure machines in particular have an ambition to move around the world. Where do you imagine replenishing electricity in the desert?”