Car manufacturers make a new attempt to enrich their portfolio with electric bikes. “It’s picking up speed”, says Dirk Zedler who as head of the bicycle test institute Zedler in Ludwigsburg is already now dealing with bicycles that will not be launched on the market until next year.
Currently, Porsche has joined forces with Rotwild, a specialist for sporty e-bikes. Two Porsche models have been manufactured there since this spring. The design originates from Porsche, the technical know-how from Rotwild. They are high-end products at expectedly high prices. It’s not the first time that car manufacturers offer e-bikes. Smart started in 2021 with a model, Audi cooperated with Winora and BH Bikes, and also Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lamborghini, Ford or Toyota had their brand logo attached to e-bikes.
But often the projects failed due to high prices and a lack of service network. Peugeot as a traditional bicycle manufactuter presented a whole range of new electric bikes in summer 2020. However, there is currently no marketing in Germany because there is no sales and service network here. Nevertheless, German customers can order from the French webshop.
Now, two new players on the market want to make it better: Jeep e-bikes and VW. The Americans sell their low-cost models through Elektro Mobile Deutschland GmbH, a dealer network is being set up, maintenance and repairs are to be carried out via a mobile service or in partner workshops. And in Hanover, the engineers of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles have developed an e-cargo bike with additional service and maintenance offer. As regards the price, they will orientate towards the market. Let’s wait and see for the offers with which other car brands will appear on the market.
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Author: Stefan Weißenborn
