MILAN, Nov 27 ― At the Milan Motorcycle Show, almost everyone is going electric. Visitors heading to the event can discover new products from Fantic, Vmoto, Niu and Kymco, on site until Sunday, November 28, before they land in dealerships in 2022.
After the 2020 edition was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Milan Motorcycle Show is making a comeback in 2021, showcasing a market that's clearly moving in an electric direction. The 78th edition of the EICMA sees a host of new electric models, including motorcycles and motor scooters, the majority of which hail from China.
Italian manufacturers in the spotlight
It's hard to escape the new electric models in the aisles of the show, starting with those from Italian manufacturers, who are determined to steal the spotlight on their home turf. Fantic, for example, is taking the opportunity to unveil its very first electric motor scooter, powered by a small 3 kW electric motor and promising a maximum range of 100 km. The model presented in Milan should be close to the one that's expected to be released in 2022.
Italjet is also taking advantage of EICMA to announce that its new Dragster will also be available in an electric version. The futuristic-looking motor scooter is expected to offer 6 to 12 kW of power, depending on the version, when it's released before the end of 2022.
China's manufacturers turn out in force
However, the most talked-about manufacturers are undoubtedly the Chinese motorcycle-makers, starting with Super Soco, which is launching a new high-end all-electric brand called Vmoto. Its first model is the Stash, an electric motorcycle with 6 kW of power and a range of 250 km on paper. It too should be available in 2022.
For its part, Niu's new products are numerous, ranging from motorcycles to kick scooters to motor scooters and bicycles, all of them electric, of course. These new products are expected to be on the market in the first half of 2022. As for the Taiwanese manufacturer Kymco, it is presenting no fewer than six new models of electric motorscooter at the Italian show.
Working towards greater range
Other noteworthy appearances in Milan include French manufacturer Nawa, exhibiting its prototype electric motorcycle, the Racer, which stands out for its hybrid power system combining a traditional lithium-ion battery with various supercapacitors. The American company Zero Motorcycles, meanwhile, came with an enhanced version of its range of bikes, all equipped with a new-generation of battery promising range of over 360 km in the city.
Range is precisely the Achilles' heel of electric motorcycles today, as it was for cars not so long ago. Now, it's up to the manufacturers to come up with more long-lasting models in order to get curious customers fully onboard with the idea of going electric.
Brands notably absent from this year's Milan show include BMW, Harley-Davidson, KTM and, more surprisingly, Ducati.― ETX Studio
