Petrol motorcycles included in 2030 sales ban
We blogged back in February about Electric motorbikes and that it wasn’t clear if motorbikes were to be included in the 2030 ban on the sale of new fossil fuelled vehicles. It is now clear that motorbikes and mopeds will be included, as documented in the governments decarbonisation of transport plan.
Now this really is an opportunity for motorbikes to become a dominant transport type to relieve congestion and provide a lower cost alternative to electric cars. But there’s just 8 years for manufacturers to come up with alternative power technologies for motorbikes and address these kind of challenges:
- Will electric power still be the goal in 2030 and if so:
- A compact battery and power train technology to suit motorbike frames
- A decent range. The vast majority of today’s motorbikes have a petrol tank range of 150-180 miles. Personally I like something bigger for touring, my KTM can manage 250 miles.
- A very fast charge capability. If motorbikes have less range than an electric car (whatever they will be capable of by 2030) then they need to be rechargeable in 30 minutes or less
- What about swappable battery technology so you can quickly drop in a ready charged alternative?
Looking at what is available now versus the developments in cars, there is a long way to go but then that’s also the case for other classes such as HGVs. Or will private transport methods become history and something we tell the grandkids about?
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