Australian motorcycle brand targets overseas expansion
Savic Motorcycles is making the pitch to potential investors for its electric two-wheeler technology to branch out beyond Australia.
It may have got off to a slow start, but Melbourne-based Savic Motorcycles has big dreams for its next phase, and it’s asking for investors to come along for the ride.
A decade on from being founded in 2016, Savic has this year started to roll out the C-Series electric motorcycle to customers across Australia, becoming one of the very few players in the two-wheeled EV space locally.
Now, Savic has opened a “strategic investment opportunity” in a bid to “accelerate the company's next stage of scale”.
In a media release, Savic said its next phase of expansion could be accelerated through investment, unlocking “greater production and supply-chain scale, further models and applications of the Savic EV platform, “continued vehicle, software and energy technology development, (supporting) Australian engineering and product capability, and international market entry”.
At present, the brand only sells its electric motorcycles in Australia, where they have been tested to comply with Australian Design Rules and meet the needs of local customers.
“The first decade was about proving that an Australian company could develop, engineer and commercially deliver a high-performance EV motorcycle,” said Savic Motorcycles CEO, Marc Alexander.
“We have done that. The opportunity now is scaling the technology, multi-model product platform, brand and commercial capability that we have built.”
“We have reached a point where the opportunity is much larger than one motorcycle. We have product in market, technology we own, an experienced team and a platform designed to support additional products and applications.
“The right strategic partner can help scale that capability substantially faster.”
“Savic has always had a very Australian character. There is a determination here to take an ambitious idea, engineer it properly, survive the difficult parts and keep building. We backed electric ten years ago. We now have the opportunity to take what we have built to a much larger market.”
Presently the company’s operations are based in West Melbourne, with its headquarters encapsulating its engineering, product, brand and customer operations.
The SM1 powertrain used by the Savic C-Series is built in a company-owned subassembly operation in Taizhou, China, where other Australian-designed components for the electric motorcycle are produced.
As tested by Torquecafe earlier this year, the Savic C-Series is by an electric motor which produces up to 80kW and 250Nm, the C-Series sends drive to the rear wheel via an Optibelt poly-carbon belt, rather than the traditional chains as found on the vast majority of bikes.
Fed by a 16.2kWh lithium-ion NMC battery, Savic claims the C-Series has 220km of combined range, making it ideal for around-town riding or the occasional squirt out on mountain roads. Charging takes place via a ‘Type 2’ AC port, allowing up to 3.3kW, and prices start from $29,990 before on-road costs.
Jordan Mulach
