Motorcycles for sale at your local Best Buy? The deal has been inked and they are set to go on sale first in the West Coast's Best Buy stores. It could go national after that.
And if the quality turns out to be accurate, normal modest sized motorcycles will be up against some stiff competition. They're electric powered and not bad looking at all.
For a new company to create a network of dealers from scratch is a huge hurdle. Craig Bramscher, CEO of electric motorcycle maker Brammo, made a really smart move, though. He made a deal with Best Buy.
The Brammo Enertia model is a carbon fiber urban commuter motorbike with a top speed of 50 mph and a 40 mile range. What helps get past its small range is its cool looks. It doesn't hurt that the company founder is a "car guy" either, starting out at a parts store in Kansas City and building a media company that works with media industry giants now.
Later this spring, the first Brammo EV bike model (there are 3 models planned) will go on sale online, but you can pick up one at some Best Buy stores later this spring too. Details are sketchy at this early stage but the Best Buy models are set to include the Brammo.
Although Brammo started out to build super cars, the rage for electric vehicles turned his thoughts to electric cars but he quickly realized that the start up costs would be impossible. However, building an electric motorcycle from scratch was a whole different thing.
Brammo’s goal is nothing less than being the first profitable pure "EV" company, and the plan is that motorcycles will make that happen. The Enertia is priced at $12,000, and reports are that an upscale version is already sold out. A federal ten percent tax credit actuallly can take the price down to $10,000.
“This is a super-efficient motorcycle,” company founder Bramscher is reported by Bnet Auto to have said. “It can travel 7,500 miles on $50 worth of energy. Existing motorcycles can do, at best, 80 mpg. We are orders of magnitude more efficient—and 10 times as efficient as a Prius, too.”
Tax credits, a reasonable price, terrific mileage, and wide market availability --- these are the makings of success and Bramscher could have a terrific product on his hands. If you want a motorcycle that will get you around town at a modest cost and that'll let you just drive right on by every gas station, then this just might be it.
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