The Current News: Sept 24, 2021

As part of the buildup to our Electric Revolution Live event in May 2022, as a follow-up of our Electric Revolution exhibit at the Petersen Museum, we are ramping up reportage on the EV scene.  It’s an ever-evolving, even frantic, landscape of electric vehicles, and it can be tough to keep abreast of all the latest bikes, batteries, and news constantly flooding the market. That’s why we’ve re-launched our weekly EV News Roundup to bring you cherry-picked stories that matter to you.

It seems that with every passing week, the EV world is going farther and faster. And as the e-Bike boom continues to grow, so will our coverage on the essential stories that matter to you, dear readers/riders. This week sees 70mph e-Scooters built entirely by a team of women (definitely my cup of tea), an evocatively styled e-Bike that is sure to appeal to scrambler enthusiasts, an e-Scooter that boasts the same collision warning sensors as your car, and EV stocks worth investing in.

e-Scooters to Be Built Entirely by Women

Ola Electric, an Indian EV two-wheeler manufacturer, plans to export its 70 mph e-Scooters, the S1 and S1 Pro, to the US very, very soon. Better yet, the company is employing 10,000 women to get the job done. The all-lady team will work in Ola’s gigantic Futurefactory. The company is planning to produce 10 million electric scooter per year, and estimates that it will supply 15% of the global e-Scooter demand by 2023. Ola’s decision to build an 100% female workforce, including women managers, is part of a unique inclusivity initiative that is crucial in India. Ola’s CEO, Bhavish Aggarwal, elaborated further in a recent blog post:

“Today, I am proud to announce that Ola Futurefactory will be run entirely by women. We welcomed the first batch this week and at full capacity, Futurefactory will employ over 10,000 women, making it the world’s largest women-only factory and the only all-women automotive manufacturing facility globally. This is the first in a series of initiatives we are undertaking at Ola to create a more inclusive workforce and provide economic opportunities for women across the board. We have invested significantly to train and upskill them in core manufacturing skills and they will be responsible for the entire production of every vehicle manufactured at Ola Futurefactory.

Enabling women with economic opportunities improves not just their lives but that of their families and indeed the whole community. In fact, studies show that just providing women parity in the labor workforce can grow India’s GDP by 27%. But this requires active and conscious efforts from all of us, especially in manufacturing where participation remains the lowest at just 12%. For India to be the world’s manufacturing hub, we must prioritize upskilling and generating employment for our women workforce.”

RGNT’s Throwback e-Motorcycle Caters to Scrambler Enthusiasts

Are you a fan of the Honda CL series? Then you’ll probably dig the 77 mph retro-styled e-Motorbike RGNT is now taking orders for. The Swedish e-Bike manufacturer recently announced that it is taking orders for the updated Generation 1.5 RGNT Scrambler. Featuring classy, stripped-down styling, an enhanced suspension fork with increased durability, new Galfer brake rotors, and an upgraded 11 kW motor that decreases heat by as much as 30% to reduce battery waste energy, this bike is sure to appeal to classic café enthusiasts. With a 68-mile range and a Combined Braking System (CBS) for increased security, RGNT’s Scrambler is bound to sell out fast.

RGNT motorcycles are currently hand-built in their modern facility just outside Gothenberg, Sweden: the Vintagent team just took a Zoom tour of their facilities!  The RGNT No1 used a chassis and look based on the vintage Honda CB series, and the Scrambler is reminiscent of the CL Scrambler series.  A new chassis and new production line is in the works, as RGNT grows its footprint across Europe and soon to North America.  The vintage styling may not be cutting edge or reflect a tank-less future, but it appeals to a broad spectrum of riders and non-riders alike, who intuitively recognize it as ‘motorcycle’: it’s proved a popular strategy on the ‘Net, and fingers crossed the market for mid-range eBikes is as strong as for ICE bikes.

New e-Scooter Has the Same Collision Warning System as Your Fancy Car

Unagi isn’t cutting any corners when it comes to its next-generation e-Scooter. The Unagi Model Eleven will sport smart sensors that scan for unexpected dangers, including careless pedestrians and stop signs, and alerts the rider via audible signals. Learning from its past mistakes, the Model Eleven has swapped out the original rigid airless tires for a soft, puncture-proof foam option. And even though the scooter’s top speeds of 19 mph and steep price point won’t win everyone over, we’re still intrigued.

EV Stocks Worth the Investment

During Q1 of 2021, global EV sales spiked a staggering 160% , to 260Million units (!Wake up peeps!) from the same quarter last year. Such sales numbers are making stock watchers pay attention, thinking the future EV growth in sales makes EV stocks a prime investment opportunity. Some stocks worth watching are Nikola Corporation (NKLA) and Hyliion Holdings, in case you play the markets.  Note: The Vintagent does not endorse any investment strategy…we spend all our money on motorcycles!

Government Investment in EVs Projected to Create 150,000 Jobs

A report by the Economic Policy Institute lays it out: if the US government does not invest in EV technology, a projected 75,000 US jobs will be lost in the coming decade, as EV production ramps up overseas (did you note all the articles above are about non-US companies?).  The EPI report projects, though, that with the $175M included in the current budget proposals to support EV development, the US will gain 175,000 jobs in EV production over the next 10 years.  “The Stakes for Workers in How Policymakers Manage the Coming Shift to All-Electric Vehicles” lays out the stakes: “…battery electric vehicles (BEVs), which are powered exclusively by a battery and an electric motor, currently make up a small part of U.S. auto sales. And the batteries and other drivetrain components in BEVs are largely made by non-U.S. suppliers. The coming shift toward BEVs is a transformational change to the industry that is by now inevitable.”  To summarize: if we’re not part of the solution, we’re creating more problems.  Seems pretty straightforward.  Give the article a read here.