Canadian upstart Damon Motors claims to be on track for $250 million in global eBiz as early as 2023. It has exceeded a $90M order backlog with the potential of exceeding $250M through international partnerships like the recently announced deal with Latin America’s Auteco. “You can’t be the future of anything if you’re not better than the past,” says Co-Founder and CEO Jay Giraud. To that end, Damon’s 200 hp / 200 mph / 200 miles of range triumvirate makes it better than the past. “Damon motorcycles represent the first breed of bikes ready to displace combustion two-wheelers and lead the industry into a greener future.”
Giruad adds, “It was necessary for us to target performance metrics as good or better than anything achieved before, otherwise people aren’t going to go electric in any meaningful numbers. This is the fundamental Achilles’ heel in the two-wheel EV industry so far. Nobody will trade in for an electric motorbike if it’s not as good as what they already have—people want to trade up.”
With more than 160 million motorcycles produced annually, the industry is responsible for being the 2nd worst emitter of greenhouse gas emissions, according to Giraud. “Motorcycles on average produce 16 times more hydrocarbons than passenger cars, which are outnumbered by motorcycle usage daily.” To compound matters, a report from Ian Savage at Northwestern University finds today’s motorcycle accidents account for 212 deaths per one billion passenger miles, compared with cars at just seven. The majority of these accidents occur in intersections caused by car drivers but are also attributed to a lack of evasive action by motorcycle riders. It was these facts combined with his passion for motorcycling that led Giraud and Dom Kwong to found the company.
“We have to get to one-million units annually to put a dent in the industry and change it forever,” adds Giraud. “By coupling high-volume production with our 5G connected, sensor-enabled, self-learning computer system, we can make it so that every mile ridden on a Damon motorcycle makes all other Damon motorcycles smarter and safer with over-the-air updates. We can cause the accident rates to perpetually fall over the coming decade. This is our 2030 goal.”
With over 3,500 waiting customers, the company is furiously preparing its pilot production facility in San Rafael, Calif. for its California customers, where over 25% of Damon’s orders currently reside. To prepare to scale manufacturing, Damon has also leased a 108,000 sq.//ft facility in Vancouver, Canada, being readied for world production.