Suzuki’s general manager in charge of motorcycle sales, Akira Kyuji, confirmed to MCN that the Japanese company remains on track to unveil its first electric two-wheeler next year, with more investment being directed towards alternative and sustainable fuels.
“Unless something drastically changes the situation in the future… the development plan is as we planned,” Kyuji told MCN during an exclusive interview.
“They are coming,” he added. “They will mainly be small commuter vehicles, like a 125, because the space for motorcycle and scooter batteries is very limited.
“Even if we have the best quality battery, the range we can achieve is obviously very limited, which means we’ll start with city commuters.”
In January 2023, Suzuki announced its first steps towards a greener future, stating that it would introduce its first electric motorcycle in 2024 and launch eight EV models by 2030.
The company also revealed that it would invest €14.40 million in R&D during that period and a further €15.5 billion in capital expenditure across its entire sector of operations, with €3.1 billion being used for battery-related investments
Despite these investments, the brand remains committed to the combustion engine – believing that electric technology still has a long way to go to be viable for larger models.
Kyuji explained: “[Electric] manufacturers like Harley-Davidson [now LiveWire], or Zero… the sales volumes are not that big. They’re doing well, but the volume is very limited. That means that the price and specifications that customers want aren’t matching up at all at the moment.
“I think it’s probably better to focus on alternative solutions like hydrogen, electric fuels or even biofuels,” he added. “If there is a breakthrough in technology, battery capacity, price and space, then we can move in that direction”
“But unless there is a breakthrough in that direction, it’s quite difficult, so we would probably give higher priority to alternative solutions,” he continued.
These alternative directions include hydrogen – a solution that has already been heavily criticized by some industry experts. Undeterred, Suzuki unveiled a prototype Burgman 400 this year that uses a 70 MPa hydrogen tank and a hydrogen engine.
“The Burgman we showed at the Japan Mobility Show works. But once again, just like a battery, the hydrogen we need for longer distances [means] we need more space,” added the Suzuki director. “Once again, we’re struggling with the problem of storage space. It’s feasible, but there are still a lot of technological advances we need.”
Source:https://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/2023/december/suzuki-boss-discusses-future-of-motorcycling/