In September 2020, Husqvarna’s owner Pierer Mobility confirmed the company is developing a new electric bike called E-Pilen. Like the gas-powered Vitpilen and Svartpilen, that won’t be just a single model, rather a family of products with a few tiers based on battery capacity and other features. The new bike is due to hit the market in 2022 and a lot can still change, bit probably won’t be too far off from the rugged and minimal design concept that Husqvarna unveiled last week.
The E-Pilen bike will be a city commuter, with an average range of 100km and an 8kW motor. The subscription business model the company has envisioned for the new motorbike is what we’re most interested in and will be a first in the EU market. If everything goes according to plans, customers will be able to buy the E-Pilen for a lower price and pay for a monthly subscription to swap the battery packs at dedicated “re-filling” stations.

This model wouldn’t be completely new. Gogoro, a Taiwanese electric scooters manufacturer, has already adopted it successfully, with battery-swapping units scattered across the country at petrol stations or outside many 7-Eleven convenience stores. What Husqvarna’s parent company is planning is more ambitious, though. On March 1st 2021, Pierer Mobility signed a letter of intent to establish a consortium with Piaggio, Honda and Yamaha to offer customers a standard swappable battery solution on future vehicles. The goal is to develop a sizeable battery-swapping infrastructure across Europe to develop the electric motorbike market further in the coming years.