Thursday, 28 March 2024
Electric BikesFeaturedNews

Ducati launches new e-MTB while Tesla hints e-bikes may be on agenda

Within days of General Motors e-bike announcement, Ducati has launched its own ‘street-legal’ electric bike, aimed at off-road riders and commuters.

In the midst of all this e-bike orientated interest from automotive and motorcycle brands, reports have emerged that Tesla may also be throwing its hat in the e-bike ring. Elon Musk has reportedly said Tesla “might do an electric bike” in a (very) brief comment to Recode Decode (hat tip Electrek).

Ducati’s new launch isn’t its first foray in electric bikes. It previously launched 18 e-MTBs with Bianchi, using Bosch Active Line. The range was available via Ducati dealers and independent bike shops.

The Ducati MIG-RR will launch at EICMA later this week, pitched as a true high-end e-MTB, developed with Thok e-bikes. The enduro focused offering is an offshoot of Thok’s MIG series and features 29″ in the front with 170mm travel and 27.5″ at the rear with 160mm travel. This latest launch appears to mark a change in route to market for Ducati, however, with it being distributed through Europe via the Ducati dealership network, from spring 2019. Thok sells direct through its website but does have a number of dealers and ‘THOK Points’ around the continent.

The e-bike market has proved attractive for car and motorbike manufacturers for some time. Senior execs at Tesla, Jaguar, Bentley and Land Rover backed the chainless, folding e-bike Jivr. CI.N has further thoughts on the topic here.