With the pollution increasing in the world by the day and the carbon content in the atmosphere rising up to unprecedented levels, the auto industry is looking to move toward cleaner fuels and is backing the electric vehicles in the market. The Indian market is also all set to embrace the EV wave and the government is also enthusiastically encouraging the same with initiatives like the FAME scheme. South Korean maker Hyundai has just launched the Kona electric SUV for the Indian market and although the pricing of the SUV is a bit steep, the local manufacture of EVs will ensure that they remain within the reach of the masses in the Indian market. US bike maker Harley Davidson is also changing gears and is now preparing to launch their electric bike in the Indian market.
The first time the world saw a legendary maker like Harley moving toward an electric bike was at the EICMA in 2018 when the US maker known for big engine bikes brought forth the LiveWire electric bike in the form of a concept. Then came the CES 2019 and the bike was present there too. This marked a huge shift within the brand known for being the flag bearer of big burly bikes as it struggled to remain relevant in the current market. Recently the India website of the US bike maker listed the LiveWire in the ‘Future Vehicles’ category. With the brand not officially announcing anything on the development, there are hopes that the maker may launch the bike in the Indian market some time around 2020.
Talking about the LiveWire, it looks exactly like what one expects a Harley Davidson bike to look like, except it comes with an electric powertrain instead of the famous twin cylinder petrol units. While this may lead to severe division of opinion among the brand loyalists, the US maker is in no mood to take a step back as it has already launched the bike in its domestic market. If brought to India, the price in the US market would translate to around Rs. 20.5 lakhs for the Indian market but is the bike takes the CBU route to Indian shores, expect to shell out a lot more.
The first electric bike from the US maker comes with a 15.5 kWh battery and the magnet motor in the bike arms it with the capability to produce 105 HP and 116 Nm. The company claims that the bike has a range of 235 km range on a full battery. The LiveWire also comes with 7 riding modes that include Sport, Road, Rain, Range, and 3 custom modes. The bike also comes with fast charge capability that is able to push the charge level to full in just an hour and 80% in 40 minutes while the standard wall charger will take 12-13 hours to fully charge the Harley bike.