Aussie-built Savic electric motorcycles to launch in 2022

October 8, 2021October 22, 2021 Stephen Corby 4530 Views Savic

Australia might not be making many EVs, or cars of any kind, these days, but we are about to get into the business of building high-performance electric motorcycles from the Savic brand, which will hit the road late in 2022.

Founded by ex-Ford Australia engineer Dennis Savic, the Victorian-based company will have three C-Series model bikes, which include the 25kW Omega (comparable to a 300cc traditional motorbike), a 40kW Delta, and the 60kW Alpha (as exciting as a traditional 1000cc bike apparently).

The Alpha will also offer 200Nm of torque – about the same as a small hatchback – and hit 100km/h in 3.5 seconds, which is close to supercar fast.

Savic motorcycles to launch Aussie-built e-motorbikes

The C-Series’ 16kWh lithium-ion batteries can be charged to 80 percent in less than four hours and offer range of between 150km and 250km, in urban-riding conditions. Expect less if you’re tapping into all that performance regularly or cruising at 100km/h.

Prices for the Omega start at $12,990, with the Delta at $16,990, and the Alpha at $23,990 – less than half the price of its nearest e-bike competitor.

The Federal Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre is co-funding the project – tipping in $657,000 out of the total start-up costs of $1.14 million – out of the Federal Government’s $30 million Commercialisation Fund.

“The investment from AMGC is a strong vote of confidence in our product and plans to manufacture EV motorbikes onshore,” Savic said.

“With this funding secured, our 30-strong team can now move to start manufacture with at least 20 bikes intended to be delivered to owners late next year, before rapidly scaling up operations in 2023.”

The C-Series bikes use racing-quality components, including Wilbers suspension, Brembo brakes, and a customised Optibelt carbon-fibre drive belt.

Savic is also set to embark on the design of a special anti-lock braking system with Bosch Australia. All Savic bikes will feature removable cowls to allow for pillion passengers (who will, of course, reduce the range, sadly).

The Savic electric bike is planned to hit the market in 2022 priced from $12,990

Dr Jens Goennemann, Managing Director of the AMGC, said: “Savic Motorcycles is paving the way for electric mobility in Australia by leveraging the best of breed designers, engineers and manufacturing partners to deliver motorbikes of unmatched performance for local and global customers.

“Savic is proof that when you embrace the entire manufacturing process from design to research and development, all the way through to sales, there are exciting times ahead for Australian manufacturing.”

Earlier this year, the C-Series Alpha was the displayed at the entrance to the ‘Spark’ climate-change exhibition at Sydney’s Australian Museum and was celebrated as one of the world’s 101 most influential motorcycles at Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art.

Stephen Corby

Stephen is a former editor of both Wheels and Top Gear Australia magazines and has been writing about cars since Henry Ford was a boy. Initially an EV sceptic, he has performed a 180-degree handbrake turn and is now a keen advocate for electrification and may even buy a Porsche Taycan one day, if he wins the lottery. Twice.