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Motorcycle-maker gears up for new facility Enertia all electric motorcycle
Electric motorcycle-maker Brammo Motorsports has made an interim move while it awaits completion of its new production facility.
Brammo owner Craig Bramscher has signed a three-year lease to occupy Tara Labs' 18,000-square-foot building at 550 Clover Lane. Tara Labs, in turn, intends to lease Brammo's former 10,000-square-foot facility at 695 Mistletoe Road, according to Coldwell Banker Commercial NW broker Tom Bradley, who represented Brammo in the deal.
Brammo is gearing up to ...........
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.................begin production on its Enertia electric motorcycle and can't wait until a new 40,000-square-foot plant is finished.
"It's an interim solution and we hope to be operational by March 1," Bramscher said Friday."If we were going to be in production so we can start shipping bikes by May, we needed more of a facility than we had. The existing facility was going to be a bit of a challenge, and this allows us to consolidate in one location."
Brammo has doubled its workforce to 28 and will build up to "50 or so fairly quickly" as it gets ready to begin assembly. The first bikes will cost about $15,000 when they come off the line later this year. Subsequent versions are ticketed for $12,000.
"We're still getting a lot of pre-orders," he said. "That's surprising since gas has gone down, but orders have stayed at a good clip."
Once the production building is completed, Bramscher said the interim site likely would become an administrative office.
Bramscher is hoping Enertia buyers will qualify for a tax credit that was included in a Senate bill that was part of the stimulus package this week. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, introduced the measure to double to 500,000 the number of plug-in electric vehicles that could qualify for a tax credit of up to $7,500.
Bramscher anticipates Enertia buyers could qualify for a tax credit of between $1,250 and $4,000, based on battery size.
Brammo is in business for one simple reason - to drive change in the New Energy Economy.
Our technically-advanced Enertia plug-in electric motorcycle - which gets up to 45 miles per charge - is the lightweight, sculpted and geometric embodiment of this change.
But the Enertia is more than a cool bike, an engineering marvel or a cultural icon for the post-petroleum era.
It simply embraces the best. The best thinking and the best spirit. So, the Enertia represents our personal best - the best we can do to create meaningful change in people's lives today.
Brammo Enertia electric motorcycle to be sold at Best Buy
You're already buying TVs, washing machines, cheap keyboards and cell phones at Best Buy, why not a $12,000 electric motorcycle?
That seems to be the thinking going on at Brammo HQ, where an infusion of cash from Best Buy's investment arm last year has now led to plans to sell the $11,995 Enertia at five West Coast Best Buy stores in May. Okay, sure, but we're way less optimistic about plans to let the Geek Squad handle basic repairs and maintenance -- we don't let those fools near our laptops, god forbid Pimples McUpsell touch something that could actually kill us.
Eventually Brammo wants to sell bikes at every Best Buy location around the world, but we'll see how this initial test works out.
Greentech Media, February 27
2009
Best Buy to Sell Brammo Electric Motorcycles
The electronics chain is getting into the motorcycle sales business, with plans to sell Brammo's $12,000 Enertia in five West Coast stores in May. Best Buy Venture Capital invested in Brammo last year, and Brammo's CEO wants to sell his motorcycles in thousands of Best Buy stores.
Best Buy is getting into motorcycles – think Geek Squad in mechanics' coveralls.
The consumer electronics store chain is going to start selling the Enertia electric motorcycle made by Ashland, Ore.-based startup Brammo at five of its West Coast stores in May, CEO Craig Bramscher said Friday.
In time, Bramscher envisions the $12,000 Enertia, as well as Brammo's upcoming lighter-duty and heavier two-seater models, being sold across Best Buy's chain of 1,200 U.S. stores, as well as some of its 1,500 or so stores in Europe and its 270 stores in China.
Speculation that Best Buy would sell Brammo's motorcycles began back in September when Best Buy Venture Capital participated in a $10 million investment in the Ashland, Ore.-based startup. Chrysalix Energy Ventures was another investor (see Funding Roundup: Solar and Wind Startups, Along With Tesla Motors, Seek Capital). Contributions by Bramscher himself raised that total to $12 million, he said.
The idea of selling motorcycles at an electronics store isn't as crazy as it sounds, Bramscher said. Many Best Buy stores are built with two garage bays that are "underutilized," he said at the Pacific Crest Clean Technology Conference in San Francisco.
Also, given features like a built-in Web server and APIs that Brammo is opening to third-party application developers, "What we're selling is a lot closer to consumer electronics than to transportation," he said. He envisions add-ons like on-board cameras that can download images to travel blogs.
Brammo is among a number of startups seeking to supply electric two-wheelers to the mass market – others include Vectrix and Zero Motorcycles. Others like Mission Motors are making expensive, high-performance models.
Setting up distribution channels is a key challenge for startups like these, Bramscher said. That's why Best Buy could be a coup, he said.
After all, all the motorcycle distributors in the United States see about 7 million customer visits per year – the same number that Best Buy sees at a single store in West Hollywood, he said.
And yes, Geek Squad employees will perform what Bramscher called "level one" repairs on parts like brakes, tires and electronic components on Enertia motorcycles, he said.
For more complete repairs, for example "if you crash one," the motorcycles will go to a small number of central distribution centers Brammo is planning, he said. (The company is seeking a second round of funding, he said, though he didn't specify how much).
The Enertia now has a 45-mile range and a maximum speed of 53 miles per hour, using a lithium-ion-phosphate battery provided by Valence Technology that takes about three hours to charge using a standard outlet, he said.
But those range and speed limits are all right, considering that most people Brammo surveyed about their driving habits say they travel less than 25 miles per day for commuting and errands, he said. The Enertia is highway-legal, he added, and Bramm has about $3 million in pre-orders.
Brammo's two-seater motorcycle is expected to have a range of about 100 miles and go 75 miles per hour when it's released next year, he said.
USA Venox Rider (OBnoXiousNox & YelloNox) piwyrmanagement@gmail.com
If speculation is correct, yeah, it is. But these aren't just your average hogs. Starting in May at five stores on the West Coast, Best Buy will be selling the Brammo Enertia, an all-electric motorcycle that has potential to become the Chumby of the motorcycle world (well, perhaps that's not the best metaphor...).
Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher told attendees at the Pacific Crest Clean Technology Conference that the bikes' electronics components include a built-in Web server, open-platform software applications, and possible add-ons like onboard cameras that could download images to travel blogs.
"What we're selling is a lot closer to consumer electronics than to transportation," he said.
The Enertia draws power from a bank of six lithium phosphate batteries. Charging takes three hours on a standard electrical outlet and should yield a range of about 45 miles. After crunching the numbers, Brammo reckons that works out to 40 cents per charge or about 1 cent per mile to keep the Enertia running.
And run it does.
With a max speed of 53 miles per hour, the Enertia is no toy and is highway-legal, making it a viable option for commuters. The company is working on a two-seater model with a range of about 100 miles and a cruising speed of 75 miles per hour that may also be sold through Best Buy, Bramscher said.
Why Best Buy and why electric motorcycles? Well, the consumer electronics chain's venture capital investment in Brammo is part of the reason the Enertia is becoming a reality.
The Brammo Enertia is expected to retail for about $12,000. Maintenance of tires, brakes, and electronic components will potentially be handled by the Geek Squad workers in empty car A/V installation bays.
USA Venox Rider (OBnoXiousNox & YelloNox) piwyrmanagement@gmail.com
Best Buy to Sponsor Brammo in Electric Motorcycle Race
Best Buy has signed up to sponsor Brammo's electric motorcycle racing team in whatcould be a foreshadowing of the retailer selling battery-powered motorcycles, acccording to Autopia.
The arrangement will give Brammo a financial cushion and technical assistance during next month's zero-emission TTxGP motorcycle grand prix. Brammo is among 18 teams racing a total of 23 bikes on the Isle of Man on June 12th.
The report said that Best Buy already sponsors a NASCAR team, so the move isn't entirely out of left field. To build the racing bike, Brammo decided to start with a stock aluminum Enertia electric street bike that the company currently sells for $12,000.
http://www.brammo.com/ Posted Image [google]Brammo's electric motorcycle[/google] [yahoo]Brammo's electric motorcycle[/yahoo] [youtube]Brammo's electric motorcycle[/youtube]
USA Venox Rider (OBnoXiousNox & YelloNox) piwyrmanagement@gmail.com
Best Buy Selling Electric Bikes & Scooters On West Coast, Brammo Enertia Motorcycle Coming Soon
An unlikely participant in the green vehicle revolution has entered the fray. Today, the WSJ highlighted Best Buy’s (BBY) effort to expand its offerings and take a gamble by selling electric scooters and bikes at 19 west coast locations (you can buy them from anywhere online). Not only will they sell them, but their Geek Squad will be trained to provide low level service and repair. It’s a great move from Best Buy and won’t cost much to test as floor space opens up. As the WSJ points out, most consumer electronics are shrinking in size and Best Buy needs to fill the space. If nothing else, it’s an attention grabber.
They began selling the scooters and bicycles (from Currie Technologies) in May and just yesterday began selling the Brammo (an Oregon company they invested $10 million in) Enertia electric motorcycle at a Portland, Oregon store. They’ll roll it out to other stores later this summer. However, at a cost of $12000, the motorcycle will be more of a curiosity rather than an engine of revenue growth. The lower end scooter and bicycle models priced from $299 to $499 may be a popular option for those looking for some affordable, green transportation.
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