IN
THE
WIND
P46
Kawasaki Reveals Hybrid
Motorcycle Plans
K
awasaki announced plans for
a future range of hybrid and
battery-powered bikes with the
first models hitting showrooms in
the near future.
Along with this announce-
ment, Kawasaki took the wraps
off a hybrid prototype that it has
been dropping hints about since
2020, which displays how the
technology will be applied to
evolutions of existing gas-pow-
ered machines.
Kawasaki says that by 2035
every major model it sells in
developed markets will be either
fully electric or a hybrid. However,
in the short term, the company
vowed to have more than 10 bat-
tery-electric and hybrid-electric
motorcycle models in showrooms
by 2025, which is a much differ-
ent outlook from when Kawasaki
unveiled an electric prototype
several years ago with no plan for
a production bike.
Kawasaki says that by 2025 it
will be launching an average of
16 new models a year, including
the battery-electric and hybrids,
and by then the company will
have launched 15 new off-road
models as well.
Kawasaki hasn't officially
revealed any details of the hybrid
prototype as of yet, but it ap-
pears to use the parallel twin
engine from either the Ninja 250
or Ninja 400, and a large electric
motor is fitted above the gear-
box. The battery is a 48V unit
mounted under the seat.
CN
Kawasaki unveiled its
hybrid gas-/battery-
powered motorcycle.
By 2035 Kawasaki says
every major model
it sells in developed
markets will be either
fully electric or a hybrid.
