Brammo Plans to Build Brand Around Enertia Electric Bike
Press Release
Electric Motorcycle Readies For Launch; Brammo Adds Industry Leaders to Executive team
Ashland, Oregon, May 1, 2009 –Brammo, a start-up manufacturer of electric vehicles, set to launch the Enertia, the first motorcycle in their lineup has added three industry leaders to its executive team. These staff additions bring deep knowledge and experience in brand building, channel development, operations and electric propulsion from the transportation and technology industries.
Brammo has hired John Farris as the Director of Marketing. Farris, a passionate motorcycle enthusiast, was a Brand Marketing Manager for GM’s Chevrolet Silverado, the Vice President of Commercial Development for AMA Pro Racing and a Founder of the leading motorsports marketing consultancy, Hardcard Holdings, whose clients included Toyota, Harley-Davidson, BMW, Vespa, Red Bull and may others. At Brammo, Farris will lead marketing, brand development and communications.
Adrian Stewart, who joins Brammo as the Director of Channel Development, will lead the organizations retail strategy and manage the business relationships necessary to grow the Brammo brand. Stewart brings extensive global management and leadership experience in high technology, finance and startup internet organizations including IBM, Kleinwort Benson and Dresdner Bank.
Roger Gerson joins Brammo as the Electrical Engineering Manager and will head up the electrical engineering function on the Enertia as well as future Brammo products. Gerson comes to Brammo from Vectrix Electrics where he was instrumental in launching production of the Vectrix Maxiscooter, one of the early entries to the electric vehicle market. Roger’s past associations include; iRobot, Brooks Automation, Avidyne, and Safe Flight Instrument Corporation. Roger earned a BS-Engineering from Northwestern University, and an MS-Engineering from Boston University. Roger is a bicycle and motorsport enthusiast who enjoys 2-wheeling, 4-wheeling, and sledding.
“The expertise of these new team members positions Brammo for industry leadership and will help us to accomplish our goals of helping create a new transportation segment that is both environment friendly and fun,” said Craig Bramscher, CEO of Brammo. “We’re looking forward to the opportunities ahead for the EV market and to driving sustainable innovation with this team.”
Brammo is actively hiring to further grow its team. Please see www.brammo.com for more information.
About Brammo
Brammo (www.brammo.com) is a premier specialty vehicle manufacturer developing sustainable performance products for the next generation of transportation. Through integration of digital engineering and high impact design, Brammo transforms ideas into compelling products. Located in Ashland, Oregon the company was founded in 2002 and is a privately held.
Unfortunately this bike is VERY expensive for the performance it delivers. There are MUCH better options out there for much LOWER prices.
The only reason to buy this bike is it’s looks. And it sure looks awesome - I take my hat off to the designer and engineers.
To the business and marketing managers I’d love to know how you’re going to sell these at this price/performance points.
Sorry to be so negative - I really want to see the two wheel EV segment succeed. Like you say it’s a natural fit done right. Alas, the Enertia doesn’t seem to be done right.
However, you might want to cast your net wider and look at other two wheeled EVs before apparently leaping to the conclusion that an EV motorcycle needs to be this expensive.
It’s getting to be like 3-day old fish; Brammo announces Enertia, an electric motorcycle with a practical top speed of 45 MPH and a practical range of less than 40 miles, all for $14,000. Vectrix managed to beat both numbers in a range of 3 more stylish machines that manage to avoid Enertia’s Edsel-in-profile top-heaviness for $4,000 to $6,000 less, and they’ve been selling their machines since 2007.
Electric Motorsport’s GPRS is an even more appealing CAFE styled 70 MPH Li-Ion e-motorcycle with up to 60 miles of range.
Zero-X builds a motocross bike with a 50 mph top speed and a 40 mile range, in a svelte 120 lb. featherweight, but the big attraction is a quick-swap battery pack, freeing riders from long intervals tied to a recharge cord.
Xtreme Scooters’ XM-3000 manages to match Brammo’s Enertia speed: (43 MPH, 50 mile range)in a perky scooter that sells at a discounted $2,645. For the price of one Enertia, you could buy five XM-3000’s and practically never run out of e-bike range. If that’s not enough oomph, Xtreme’s XM-500 LI offers a 60 MPH top speed and 85 mile range. At $6,049, it’s less than half the price of Brammo’s offering.
Point: This is Chevy Volt revisited; despite the huge marketing push, Enertia’s performance is inferior to e-bikes already available, at a price point well beyond market prices on competing products. e-motorcycles are already here and surprisingly affordable. The bottom line is that we don’t have to wait for Segway-style pricing to go electric on two wheels
“Motorcycles are probably the softest challenge for anyone considering electric propulsion. Most bikers don’t stray too far from home, bikes are by nature lightweight, and unless you’re talking about a pumped-up crotch rocket, they don’t need to go stupid fast.”
I disagree that motorcycles are a “soft” challenge. Traditionally motorcycles have always been recreational vehicles. Although they are a common commuter vehicle, the vast majority are Sunday Drivers. Most bikers don’t stray too far from home, but even though it may be only 20 miles as the crow flies, they may have torn up 100 miles worth of canyon roads en route. Others prefer to hit the highway at speeds well above the 60mph limit these bikes are capable of. The electric motorcycle is still very immature compared to electric cars but luckily they do present less of a challenge in that their systems are not as complex.
I do believe there is a market for the existing low speed, low range electric motorcycles, but they are simply for commuting and getting around town, not for casual riders who don’t have a carefully planned route picked out. Their low maintenance and lack of gas make them appealing to many, but that isn’t enough to sell most on it.
Sorry, but this is only appealing if you must have electric. The performance is less than a 110CC motorcycle and the range is considerably less. We don’t even have to bring up the price.