New price for Brammo’s Enertia electric motorcycle – $7,995

It seems some of the response to the Enertia motorcycle has been a jaw dropping to the floor.  The old price was nearly $12,000 and perhaps in response to the dropping jaws Brammo announced on November 10 a major price reduction to $7,995.  Because this motorcycle qualifies for a 10% federal income tax credit, the after-credit price is $7,195.

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The question now is, how did Brammo pull off such a price reduction?  Their press release explains that “The Enertia is consumer electronics that you can ride and BRAMMO’s engineers are able to deliver a better value proposition to customers sooner than a traditional transportation company.”  What’s puzzling is that other makers of electric bicycles and motorcycles haven’t been able to make a similar reduction.  Reaction from around the web is:-

  • The PlugBike blog theorizes about a battery leasing program.
  • The Jalopnik blog theorizes that sales of 10,000 bikes per year will make enough sales to drive down prices.
  • This writer thought of the initial limited edition production which had carbon fiber parts, and that the price reduction might be due to removing the carbon fiber.  However a Brammo spokesperson explained that the production models made since August have not had carbon fiber and the pricing was not based on the carbon fiber models.

Most telling is a Youtube video from a June 2008 (embedded below) showing Brammo’s founder and CEO Craig Bramscher explaining that the Enertia motorcycle is more like a computer than a motorcycle.  That explanation strongly echo’s their press release.  An LA Times blog post goes further with this quote “We set the retail price two years ago, and now that we’ve built dozens of prototype bikes and built 100 for customers, we now have the real data to determine what it’s going to cost us to build these and get them out in larger volumes, so we’re able to price that in accordance now,” Bramscher said.  An earlier LA TImes blog post says Brammo’s goal is to reduce their list price as battery prices drop and eventually to institute a battery leasing program.

Other manufacturers have proposed battery leasing programs.  The idea is the initial purchase price can be lowered in exchange for a monthly lease payment.

While Brammo’s press release does not discuss a battery leasing program, it does announce a new purchase arrangement.  For a $2,000 down payment (at select Best Buy stores) and $249 per month financing you can ride out the door on an Enertia.

In September the Asphalt & Rubber blog had posted a rumor that Brammo would announce an “anti-scooter” in 60 days.  This is almost 60 days after that rumor and, well, the big announcement is not an anti-scooter.  If Brammo is working on such a vehicle they aren’t saying.  The anti-scooter would be, according to the rumor, a step-through design with a limited speed which wouldn’t require a special license.  Many makers are selling electric scooters with a step through design and a limited speed, but the A&R blog post goes on to explain that an anti-scooter would be similar to the Honda Ruckus.

“With this price reduction Brammo has positioned electric vehicles for the mass market and consumers can now be part of a solution to the transportation crises that America is facing,” said Bramscher.  “The wait is over, consumers can now buy an EV that is price competitive with a gas burning alternative and enjoy reduced maintenance and substantially lower ownership costs.”

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About David Herron

David Herron is a writer and software engineer living in Silicon Valley. He primarily writes about electric vehicles, clean energy systems, climate change, peak oil and related issues. When not writing he indulges in software projects and is sometimes employed as a software engineer. David has written for sites like PlugInCars and TorqueNews, and worked for companies like Sun Microsystems and Yahoo.

About David Herron

David Herron is a writer and software engineer living in Silicon Valley. He primarily writes about electric vehicles, clean energy systems, climate change, peak oil and related issues. When not writing he indulges in software projects and is sometimes employed as a software engineer. David has written for sites like PlugInCars and TorqueNews, and worked for companies like Sun Microsystems and Yahoo.

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