Introduced in June 2019, this BMW Motorrad Vision DC Roadster served as a window into the future of an electric motorcycle. In February 2024, that future still hasn’t arrived, and it looks as though we’re in for a long wait. That’s because BMW’s two-wheeled division has recently decided to postpone the launch of an electric motorcycle.
Speaking with German news portal T-Online, the BMW Motorrad boss Markus Flasch said a production version of the Vision DC Roadster or something to that effect has been delayed. Formerly in charge of BMW M, the executive argued the typical Motorrad customer doesn’t really want an electric motorcycle. The disclosure was made in Lisbon, Portugal during which the Salzburg-born head honcho argued there’s no point in starting to sell a product that most people won’t buy.
Responsible for the Motorrad branch since November 2023, Flasch said BMW already has the technology to build an electric motorcycle that would have a driving range of more than 124 miles (200 kilometers). When is it coming out? It’s not going to happen before 2027 as the Austrian executive claims there’s no real demand for an electric motorcycle “in any markets of the world.” He believes the situation is unlikely to change in the foreseeable years, so why bother?
While a zero-emission motorcycle has been put on hold, BMW Motorrad has been enjoying success with electric scooters. Flasch says the C evolution launched in 2014 “immediately became the market leader” while the subsequent model, the CE 04, currently has a 70% market share. Last year, the company launched the CE 02, which looks like a mashup between a scooter and a motorcycle but is neither. BMW calls it an eParkourer, whatever that means.
Markus Flasch is known for his hands-on approach. The decision to delay the launch of an electric motorcycle comes only a few months after taking the helm at BMW Motorrad. During his three-year tenure at M GmbH, he made the M3 Touring (G81) a reality. That proved to be an excellent strategy considering BMW eventually tripled production to meet demand, even though the super wagon is a forbidden fruit in North America.
Source: T-Online.de