Polaris has struck a deal with Qmerit, "a leader in green energy transformation with the largest nationwide network of certified electrical installers for EV charging, to provide a simple and convenient home-charging installation service solution for Polaris' customers in USA," says Steve Menneto, President of Off-Road. "With the launch of our new RANGER XP Kinetic, customers want a turnkey solution for fast, accessible charging. Qmerit will be the 'go-to' resource for Polaris and our dealers to support these customers' needs."
If Honda can enter the space industry, then why not Sony Corp in the EV market? Sony has created a new division to 'explore entering' the market and unveiled an Electric SUV prototype - Sony's Vision-S sport utility vehicle - at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. Sony unveiled a prototype electric vehicle called the Vision-S sedan two years ago. This was viewed mainly as a way to promote the batteries and sensors the group sells to other car manufacturers. The Vision-S has been road tested in Europe since 2020. If or when the project matures, it is unclear as to whether Sony plans to do the manufacturing themselves or outsource the construction of Sony designs to a third party.
AMA Hall of Famer and leading off-road and motocross racer Preston Petty has died. His career spanned the 1950s through the early 1970s and he was the owner of Petty Plastics, a ground-breaking plastic motorcycle component business that changed the face of motorcycle racing. Petty passed away on Jan. 16. He was 81.
As part of its plans to mark its 60th anniversary, Brembo is planting a forest of 14,000 trees. The initiative, in partnership with Treedom, involves all Group employees. It will reduce CO2 in the atmosphere and support local farming communities. The Brembo Forest will be planted in Kenya, near Lake Victoria, where Brembo will work in partnership with web platform Treedom - the first such system to allow trees to be planted remotely and their stories followed online. Brembo aims to be a carbon neutral company by 2040.
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. has made a strategic investment in California based Helm.ai "to strengthen its software technology development in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and computer vision1 technologies" stating that "Helm.ai has key strengths in the area of AI-based image recognition technologies advanced through unsupervised learning". Founded in 2016, Honda and Helm.ai have been working in collaboration since 2019 through Honda Xcelerator3, Honda's global open innovation programme of Honda.
An as-new example of Honda's RC213V-S has broken a new world record, becoming the most expensive Japanese motorcycle ever sold at auction. Hosted by UK-based specialist automotive marketplace Collecting Cars, the 'MotoGP bike for the road' sold for a total sales price of £182,500 (approx. € 157,000/$136,000). The rare superbike has never been ridden and remains in its original flight case, with just one mile on the odometer. Created with a focus on light weight and agility, the RC213V-S is a road-legal 999 cc four-stroke V4 MotoGP bike, built around a hand-fabricated aluminium frame with carbon fibre body panels and titanium fasteners, resulting in a dry weight of just 170 kg.
The Duell Bike-Center Group has hired Karsten Hofmeister to set up and expand its dealer network in Germany. Hofmeister (56) is described as having 30 years of sales experience, including two decades in the motorcycle business, most recently having been with distributor Hartje's MOT team.
After the rumpus kicked up in Europe losing its largest dealer in Austria (Zündwerk/Strasshof) and the decision to terminate legendary long-standing dealer Bächli H-D in Switzerland, the trauma shaking Harley's dealer network in 'GAS' markets continues. B&B reports that H-D Cologne/Bonn Managing Directors Daniela Kierdorf and Jan Schneider have successfully won a reprieve in court in Germany from their termination amid allegations of racism against parent company K&K Holding Managing Director Georg Kierdorf.
Sources: AMD, IDN, FT, Reuters, PSB, MPN, BDN, MCN, AP, Bloomberg, MSNW, Electrek, electricmotorcycles.news, RideApart.com, Motor1.com, Cycle World, motorbikewriter.com
