IN
THE
WIND
P48
ALTA MOTORS CEASES OPERATIONS
O
nly a few months ago, the fu-
ture looked bright for the Alta
Motors. The Northern California-
based company inked an invest-
ment deal with Harley-Davidson in
March, and it looked like the Mo-
tor Company was going to utilize
Alta technology in a new line of
electric bikes. The company's line
of Redshift dirt bikes has been
gaining traction as well, scoring a
landmark podium in AMA Enduro-
Cross with Ty Tremaine. But last
week, on October 17, Alta employ-
ees were abruptly notified that the
company was ceasing business
operations.
No official announcement has
come from Alta regarding the
shutdown, but sources say that
the company is still seeking inves-
tors, or possibly a buyer. It might
not necessarily be the end for the
company, but only time will tell if
they will land on their feet.
The company's financial
troubles might be traced back to
August, when Harley-Davidson's
"strategic investment" in Alta was
rumored to have evaporated.
Then in early September, Harley
announced it was establishing a
new research and development
facility in Silicon Valley to support
a future line of electric vehicles,
indicating it was forging its own
path in the EV field rather than
relying on a partnership. Like Alta,
Harley-Davidson has not issued
a statement regarding the status
of its investment with the electric
motorcycle firm, but H-D did have
this statement for technology pub-
lication TechCrunch.com:
"Our collaborative efforts with
Alta Motors were productive and
we were pleased with the devel-
opment work we partnered on,"
offered Harley-Davidson Com-
munications Director Patricia
Sweeney.
The past-tense reference
strongly indicates, without out-
wardly confirming, that the part-
nership is in the past.
Hopefully it's not the end for
Alta Motors, a significant brand
in EV development whose mod-
els were always well received by
Cycle News testers. Check out
our review of the 2019 Alta Red-
shift EXR dual-sporter from Alta's
media launch in August. CN
Alta Motors has
closed its doors for
now, but insiders
say they are seeking
new investors.
