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[Richard230]

The April issue of City Bike contains an article regarding H-D investing in Alta, which included an interesting comment about the investment from Zero.  It kind of sounds like they were upset that H-D didn't invest in them.  Here is Zero's statement:

For the past 12 years, we have not just been selling motorcycles.  We've been leading the movement and we've been helping to create the category of electric motorcycles.  Competition is necessary for our category and the movement to grow. As the global leader in electric motorcycle sales and innovation, we welcome the challenge and believe our business will benefit from a respected brand entering the space.  We have 12 years of R&D, manufacturing and sales experience that we will use to maintain our competitive advantage.

The article also mentions that Zero is venture-funded in the amount of almost $86 million and have taken six additional rounds of funding totaling $22 million in the last two and a half years, including $7 million in December. This information was sourced from Crunchbase (whatever that is), according to City Bike magazine.

[dennis-NL]

Personally I was hoping Tesla and Zero would merge.
The ideal front against global petrol dinosaurs.

[Burton]

Personally I was hoping Tesla and Zero would merge.
The ideal front against global petrol dinosaurs.

Keep hoping ... the batteries are too different, the power trains are too different, Musk can't find gov't grants to fund it etc ...

[Starpower]

I just can’t read into it that Zero is upset. Competition is good for everyone and they are acknowledging the fact while touting their strengths in taking it on.

[BrianTRice@gmail.com]

I just can’t read into it that Zero is upset. Competition is good for everyone and they are acknowledging the fact while touting their strengths in taking it on.

This sounds right to me. I believe Zero marketing has been quoted as saying that every move by Harley into electric powertrains drives traffic to Zero's website. Whether it's impacted sales growth substantially is unclear.

I do know I've noticed a lot of commotion among motorcycle aftermarket people that HD or other traditional manufacturers entering the market means there will be investment money chasing after good opportunities. HD customers traditionally pay a premium for the right extras.

FYI Crunchbase tracks startups and includes investment rounds. Here are some relevant pages of theirs:
- Zero motorcycles
- Alta (formerly BRD) motors
- Monday (formerly Bolt) motorbikes
- Lightning Motorcycle
- Brammo

[Apriliarsv]

Harley really screwed up when they owned MV Agusta. Harley did not do a great
job with Buell. Maybe they get the Alta thing right, maybe not.



Brian thanks for that crunchbase link.

[MrDude_1]

Harley really screwed up when they owned MV Agusta. Harley did not do a great
job with Buell. Maybe they get the Alta thing right, maybe not.



Brian thanks for that crunchbase link.

Even if they build a perfect bike... most of their dealers are too boneheadded to sell it.

[Curt]

Zero's investors are just that, investors. I'm extremely relieved Harley did not get their hands on Zero. I can't imagine desperate Harley remaining totally hands-off, which is what they need to do because their market space is different and incompatible.

Alta is looking up to be an ideal competitor to share the market with Zero and provide some stability. My next bike could easily be an Alta. But now I feel sorry for them. It seems like best case, they get distracted, and Harley pillages their technology for a fraction of what it's worth. Worst case, Harley drags another one down.

[Richard230]

H-D certainly has a long history of buying into motorcycle manufacturers and then either closing them down or selling them to some other company. 

[mrwilsn]

Personally I was hoping Tesla and Zero would merge.
The ideal front against global petrol dinosaurs.

Unfortunately, this will never happen as long as Musk is at the helm. At the Tesla 2018 Shareholder Meeting a Tesla investor asked if Tesla would ever make a motorcycle.

His response was to tell about his motorcycle riding days of his youth and a time when he was 17 and almost killed by a truck so "we're not gonna do motorcycles".

Too bad because it would be awesome to have access to Tesla super chargers....not to mention what they could do from a design perspective.

You can hear it here at 1 hr 10 minute mark




Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[dennis-NL]

Personally I was hoping Tesla and Zero would merge.
The ideal front against global petrol dinosaurs.

Unfortunately, this will never happen as long as Musk is at the helm. At the Tesla 2018 Shareholder Meeting a Tesla investor asked if Tesla would ever make a motorcycle.

His response was to tell about his motorcycle riding days of his youth and a time when he was 17 and almost killed by a truck so "we're not gonna do motorcycles".

Too bad because it would be awesome to have access to Tesla super chargers....not to mention what they could do from a design perspective.

You can hear it here at 1 hr 10 minute mark




Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

So if he was almost killed in his car there wouldn't be Tesla cars right now....
What a lame excuse from Musk to not want to make EV motorbikes.

[JaimeC]

As a former Buell owner I can tell you Harley seriously shot themselves in the foot with that brand.  They refused to allow them to be sold in anything but an authorized Harley dealership.  Many people who were interested in those kinds of bikes wouldn't set foot in a Harley dealership.  Those few who did often found themselves being hard-sold on buying a "REAL BIKE" instead of a Buell, which were often off in a corner somewhere out of sight.

Hiring Keith Wandell (a man who NEVER threw a leg over a motorcycle in his life) as their CEO was the final nail in the coffin.  Instead of recognizing the brand as a way of diversifying their customer base, he shut it down, and sold MV Agusta back to the Castiglioni family for $1.00.  That asshole is gone now, but the bitter taste remains.

[Richard230]

As a former Buell owner I can tell you Harley seriously shot themselves in the foot with that brand.  They refused to allow them to be sold in anything but an authorized Harley dealership.  Many people who were interested in those kinds of bikes wouldn't set foot in a Harley dealership.  Those few who did often found themselves being hard-sold on buying a "REAL BIKE" instead of a Buell, which were often off in a corner somewhere out of sight.

Hiring Keith Wandell (a man who NEVER threw a leg over a motorcycle in his life) as their CEO was the final nail in the coffin.  Instead of recognizing the brand as a way of diversifying their customer base, he shut it down, and sold MV Agusta back to the Castiglioni family for $1.00.  That asshole is gone now, but the bitter taste remains.

+1   

[Killroy]

Personally I was hoping Tesla and Zero would merge.
The ideal front against global petrol dinosaurs.

Keep hoping ... the batteries are too different, the power trains are too different, Musk can't find gov't grants to fund it etc ...

Car makers in general get a lot of government subsidies like tax reductions, but I don't think Tesla gets significant grants, where they are actually cut a check. 

[dukecola]

Smart move by Zero. When a major brand becomes competition, it will grow Zero's sales big time.  Imagine someone interested in a Livewire, but then sees the $30k tag. They'll investigate other makers who are less expensive.