Photo: Romero S.
We can expect more electric motorcycles from KTM in the future, and this was confirmed by Mattighofen’s PR manager Thomas Kuttruff in an exclusive interview with us at the very KTM booth in Milan, Italy last week.
Despite the allure of the brand-new 1050 Adventure, it was impossible to overlook the presence of the all-new Freeride E machines. KTM is definitely very serious about their electric motorcycle program so we tried to find out more about their plans.
Mattighofen preferred to make a very bold move and dished out not one, not two, but three working bikes.
As the official said, “KTM is currently the only manufacturer in the world who is making a sport motorcycle with an e-drive in a serial production.”
The new Freeride E family consists of an enduro bike, a motocross one and even a street-legal supermoto e-beast, but this is only the beginning, according to the same source. Unfortunately, those who were hoping to see the KTM electric scooter making it into production this year will be disappointed.
The Austrian manufacturer has evaluated the chances of financial success the scooter project had and developing a new platform in this direction didn’t seem to be the most lucrative prospect. As Kuttruff stressed out, KTM is about building sport motorcycles, so not delivering a scooter was somehow consistent with the big picture.
For the time being, the scooter remains a design study, but the electric motorcycles family will grow. As the technology the Freeride E machines use will be perfect during the next years, KTM is also expected to see their real economic potential to become more obvious. However, since Kuttruff mentioned “sales volumes” we learned that Mattighoffen is indeed planning an offensive in this sector.
The debut is indeed impressive, especially compared to the rather modest “electric presence” other gas-powered manufacturers have in this area. This headstart could turn into a very solid foundation for the new electric motorcycles KTM is preparing.
We thought of asking directly whether an electric adventure bike will be arriving any time soon, but we figured out that no explicit answer could be offered for such a blunt question. Still, reading such a press release in the inbox one day would no longer surprise us.
At least KTM seems honest when they say they have big plans for e-bikes in the future. This means more options, and options are always a good thing, especially with motorcycles. Orange AND green in one bike surely sounds fun!
This is only the beginning
The KTM official was not shy to tell us that these three bikes are only the beginning. In fact, it doesn’t take a fine industry analyst to figure out that KTM is betting big on electric mobility. Many other manufacturers have made shy steps in this direction and have delivered only one bike, in most of the cases a prototype.Mattighofen preferred to make a very bold move and dished out not one, not two, but three working bikes.
As the official said, “KTM is currently the only manufacturer in the world who is making a sport motorcycle with an e-drive in a serial production.”
The new Freeride E family consists of an enduro bike, a motocross one and even a street-legal supermoto e-beast, but this is only the beginning, according to the same source. Unfortunately, those who were hoping to see the KTM electric scooter making it into production this year will be disappointed.
The Austrian manufacturer has evaluated the chances of financial success the scooter project had and developing a new platform in this direction didn’t seem to be the most lucrative prospect. As Kuttruff stressed out, KTM is about building sport motorcycles, so not delivering a scooter was somehow consistent with the big picture.
For the time being, the scooter remains a design study, but the electric motorcycles family will grow. As the technology the Freeride E machines use will be perfect during the next years, KTM is also expected to see their real economic potential to become more obvious. However, since Kuttruff mentioned “sales volumes” we learned that Mattighoffen is indeed planning an offensive in this sector.
The debut is indeed impressive, especially compared to the rather modest “electric presence” other gas-powered manufacturers have in this area. This headstart could turn into a very solid foundation for the new electric motorcycles KTM is preparing.
We thought of asking directly whether an electric adventure bike will be arriving any time soon, but we figured out that no explicit answer could be offered for such a blunt question. Still, reading such a press release in the inbox one day would no longer surprise us.
At least KTM seems honest when they say they have big plans for e-bikes in the future. This means more options, and options are always a good thing, especially with motorcycles. Orange AND green in one bike surely sounds fun!
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