Polaris Announces Partnership with Zero Motorcycles to Co-Develop Electric Vehicles as a Cornerstone of rEV’d up
During National Drive Electric Week, several manufacturers announce new initiatives or feature new electric vehicles. But make no mistake, National Drive Electric Week is not exclusive to auto makers.
Polaris announced yesterday a new 10-year partnership with Zero Motorcycles, a global leader in electric motorcycle powertrains and technology.
In their press release, Polaris stated, “This exclusive partnership in off-road vehicles (ORV) and snowmobiles is a cornerstone component of rEV’d up, Polaris’ long-term strategy to position the Company as the leader in powersports electrification. Through rEV’d up, Polaris aims to offer customers an electric vehicle option within each of its core product segments by 2025, with the first vehicle from the Zero-Polaris partnership debuting by the end of 2021.”
“Thanks to advancements in power, pricing and performance over the last several years, and with customer interest surging, now is the right time for Polaris, with Zero Motorcycles as a key strategic partner, to implement our rEV’d up initiative and aggressively accelerate our position in powersports electrification,” said Scott Wine, chairman and CEO of Polaris. “Zero Motorcycles’ pioneering electrification experience, proven leadership, and electric powertrain technologies are unmatched in the market. We believe this transformative partnership will enable us to leapfrog technological hurdles around range and cost while providing a tremendous speed-to-market advantage – an instant offense. Leveraging the strengths of our teams and a shared culture of innovation and passion for this industry, Polaris and Zero will collaborate to shape the future of powersports.”
But what does this mean for the machines you drive? Electric ORV’s, ATV’s, snowmobiles or Slingshots?
As stated in the release, “with Polaris’ scale and broad product lineup, this strategic partnership will be the largest in Zero Motorcycles’ history. Under this 10-year exclusive agreement, Polaris will develop, manufacture and sell electrified ORVs and snowmobiles using Zero’s powertrain technology, hardware and software. Zero Motorcycles has been designing, manufacturing and advancing electric motorcycles since 2006, and this partnership gives Polaris access to more than 14 years of unmatched experience and intellectual property. Zero Motorcycles is the only motorcycle company to successfully bring an entire electric product line to market and is regarded as the leader in motorcycle EV technologies, subsystems, components, and designs.”
A few years back, Josh Hill, professional motocross racer, and Alta Motors entered an all electric dirt bike into the Red Bull Straight Rhythm contest, it was competitive and even had winning moments. What I missed the most was the rev of the engine, but if you can get past that, you would have no idea it was all electric.
Anxious to see how this new initiative comes about.