BMW has been one of the biggest proponents of electric powertrains for vehicles, mostly on four wheels but also on two.
The BMW i8, for example, was one of the original electric supercars when it launched around a decade ago, and for one of the few brands in the motorcycle world that has committed to high-performance superbikes in recent years, you might expect them to replicate their front-foot approach to electric performance cars on the Motorrad side.
Find all the latest motorcycle news on Visordown.
This is especially true because BMW already has some electric bikes. Although neither the 125cc-equivalent CE 02 or slightly larger CE 04 (which is also available in a restricted, 125cc-equivalent 11kW, or 15bhp, version) could really be described as sports or performance models, they are electric and therefore show BMW’s openness to the consideration of electric motors in powered two-wheelers (PTWs).
But, so far, there is no electric sports bike from BMW. They aren’t alone in that, as only really exclusively electric brands like Zero and Energica have pursued electric sports bikes, whereas the major manufacturers have avoided it. Instead, Honda and Yamaha, for example, have only recently released their own first respective goes at electric scooters, and the first Kawasaki electric bikes have only been announced this year. Ducati has dipped its toe into the electric world, and indeed the electric sports bike world, but only in MotoE and not yet in the production market.
So, is BMW about to break the mould and become the first major manufacturer of combustion sports bikes to develop and build an electric superbike? Well, no. Not according to new BMW Motorrad CEO Markus Flasch, at least.
Flasch arrived at the top of BMW Motorrad at the end of last year and by the beginning of this year was the man behind the (latest) rumours of BMW entering MotoGP as a competitor. Now, in an interview with the Italian outlet Motociclismo, Flasch has said that there are no plans at BMW for an electric motorcycle.
“We listen very carefully to the requests of our audience,” Flasch said. “At the same time, we closely observe the competition in the market and what it is bringing to the market. If you combine both aspects, you arrive at the result that the time for high-performance electric motorcycles is probably not here yet.
“We don’t think we’re going to need an electric motorcycle with more power in the next two or three years.”
On top of that apparent commitment to avoid building electric motorcycles, Flasch also said that “for [BMW] there would be no need for another 11kW model,” meaning one of the most popular electric classes, 125cc-equivalent, will remain with only the CE 02 from BMW for the foreseeable.
