Reports says electric motorcycle sales expected to rise sharply
Annual sales of electric motorcycles and scooters are expected to increase sharply in North America and Europe over the next six years, according to a new report from Pike Research.
The report cites high petroleum costs, improved customer perception and government incentives as contributing to a growing demand for motorcycles and scooters — including those powered by electricity.
In Western Europe, for example, annual sales of e-motorcycles will essentially double each year through 2017, the report says, with some countries, such as Italy and France, seeing compound annual growth rates of greater than 120 percent. The nations of Eastern Europe will see even more explosive growth, with e-motorcycle sales increasing by 138 percent annually from 2011 through 2017. Compound annual growth rates for e-motorcycles in North America will surpass 71 percent.
“For now, sales numbers are low, but manufacturers of two-wheeled electric vehicles are finding specialty niches that will provide solid growth early on in the next decade,” Pike Research senior analyst Dave Hurst said. “E-scooters, for example, are effective for small parcel deliveries, while police forces are gravitating toward e-motorcycles to save money on fuel.”
The total number of e-motorcycles and e-scooters on the road, worldwide, will increase from 17 million in 2011 to 138 million by 2017.
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