Part of Kawasaki Motors Ltd.’s new direction as its own business entity, the Japanese motorcycle brand has ambitious goals for its near future, as it has announced plans for motorcycles with electric, hybrid, and even hydrogen drivetrains.
The strategy outlines that Kawasaki will debut 10 electric and hybrid motorcycles by the year 2025. That plan also includes the development of five off-road models that will use “advanced fuel” power plants.
Touted during the presentation in Tokyo, one of the machines we could see is a motorcycle with a hydrogen-powered H2 engine, though it is not clear if the supercharger would remain in that application.
We can almost certainly expect electric bikes to replace small-displacement machines, with Kawasaki’s electric street bike development (shown above) looking a lot like its Ninja 400 offering.
Hybrid models could range from high-performance applications, similar in vein to the current H2 sport bikes, or to mileage-pounding touring models, which would be better suited to absorb the additional weight of a dual-drive system.
Kawasaki says that its efforts will be focused on the premium end of the market, likely meaning that these machines will be geared towards European and North American riders.
Any way you slice it, the news puts Kawasaki at the front of the pack on its non-traditional drivetrain development, and with a schedule that seesan average of 16 new bikes per year thru 2025, we could be seeing these creations very, very soon…and in force.
Source: Kawasaki Motors
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