Bad news from San Francisco today, as we learn that Alta Motors has ceased business operations, effective immediately, sending the company’s staff home as the electric motorcycle manufacturer looks for future funding.
Talking to an anonymous source, Asphalt & Rubber has been told that Alta Motors is in the midst of a strategic wind down, as it looks for an outside acquisition or investment.
We bring you big news this first day of March, as Harley-Davidson has announced its strategic investment in Alta Motors, which will see the two American companies co-developing two new electric motorcycle models.
As one can imagine, the news has big ramifications for both brands. For Harley-Davidson, it means having access to cutting-edge electric vehicle technology, and a technical partner that can help them navigate the coming shift to electric drivetrains.
And for Alta Motors the news is perhaps even more impactful, as Harley-Davidson brings not only a key monetary investment into the San Francisco startup, but the deal likely provides access to a variety of assets for Alta, namely purchasing power with parts supplier, access to a worldwide dealer network, and instant credibility with other future investors.
For the immediate future though, Harley-Davidson and Alta Motors foresee their collaboration including two new electric motorcycles, which will be branded under the Harley-Davidson name.
Good news from Alta Motors, as the San Franciscan company is sizably dropping prices across the board on its lineup of Redshift electric motorcycles.
The price changes for 2018 affect the Redshift MX (motocross), Redshift EX (enduro), and Redshift SM (supermoto) models, with MSRPs that align these machines much closer in price when compared to their established thermic counterparts.
As such the new pricing is as follows: 2018 Redshift MX ($10,495), 2018 Redshift EX ($12,995), and 2018 Redshift SM ($13,495) – which means that these prices are dropping by several thousands of dollars (the MX model takes a $5,000 price decrease, while the SM is $2,000 cheaper than before).
It has been a long time coming for Alta Motors (the electric motorcycle company formerly known as BRD) to bring its electric motorcycles to market, but that day has finally arrived.
Alta Motors has delivered its first motorcycle to a customer yesterday, with Eric Gauthier and Jeannine Smith of Suspension Performance taking delivery of their new Redshift MX.
“We’ve been quietly driving towards this moment for over 8 years in pursuit of creating the best motorcycles money can buy,” said Marc Fenigstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Alta Motors.
If you lookup the word “hustle” in the dictionary, you might see a portrait of the BRD Motorcycles crew. We haven’t heard much from the San Francisco startup in the past year or so, well nothing official at least, but today the BRD crew has a plethora of milestones to announce.
First up is the addition of $1 million in funding, which was lead by the strategic investment firm Third Shore Group (TSG). The added funds will help keep the BRD’s lights on, and help the EV company bring its RedShift electric motorcycle series into production. As a part of the funding agreement, BRD will also receive human resources from TSG, in addition to opening a satellite facility just outside of Detroit, in Royal Oak, Michigan.
Dropping us an email from across The Bay, the guys at BRD sent us this cool video by Sam Erickson, which follows the BRD team as they got ready to launch the BRD RedShift electric supermotard. Following the San Francisco company over July & August, we get a glimpse of the finally design and assembly of the Redshift, along with the bike’s launch in San Francisco (bonus points if you can spot my face during the unveiling).
We’ve been following BRD pretty closely the past few months, and while we can’t share too much of what we’ve seen and heard (rumors of a helium-filled front wheel are probably only slightly exaggerated), CEO Marc Fenigstein tells us that Monday next week will see the startup release the BRD Redshift’s final technical specifications, along with the retail pricing. As for the video, it’s well very well done, and captures the small team at BRD hard at work bringing ICE parity to the EV space. Check it out after the jump.
We’ve been following the guys at BRD since the beginning of the year, and this scrappy San Francisco company has finally busted out of stealth mode with its first electric motorcycle line: the BRD RedShift. With a goal of meeting or exceeding parity with gasoline-powered two-wheelers, BRD’s first foray into the motorcycle industry is an interesting one, as the RedShift line brings true 250cc four-stroke power to the electric realm. Producing 40hp from the company’s proprietary water-cooled AC motor, the BRD RedShift SM produces more power than a Honda CRF250R while tipping scales at less than 250 lbs in supermoto trim (less than 240 lbs in MX-spec).
The RedShift line is BRD’s first line of motorcycle, and will feature three different purpose-built trims. The Supermoto (SM) model will be BRD’s on-road city bike, while the MX model will be the company’s enduro offering. BRD has also factored fleet sales heavily into its business plan, and will have a vehicle, designated as the RedShift PD, that will be available for government and private fleet usage. Point of sale and warranty work will stem from a standard dealer model, which will be aggressively built out over the coming months, and plays back into the company’s mantra that electric vehicles don’t need to be different from gas bikes, just better than them.