The Honda of Electric Bikes
Karmic Bikes is based in Palo Alto, California. Known as a small university town and birthplace of a few garage startups which have grown to become some of the largest and most well-known companies in history. We are not as well-known for being the first town in America with a dedicated bikeway.
Palo Alto is also the headquarters of Tesla Motors. But you’ll never hear me say that we’re the “Tesla of Ebikes” as many others have proclaimed. Tesla is a truly unique kind of company with a cultishly charming CEO. I’m no Elon. Our next-door neighbor has a new Model S. My brother-in-law has a Model 3 reserved. Nearly all my VC friends drive a Tesla. We can’t go three blocks without seeing someone in one. I joke that they are the Prius of Palo Alto.
I drive a Honda.
While I loved my Kia Soul, it simply didn’t have the room needed to deliver more than two bikes at a time. Though we’re still firmly in our “garage startup” phase, our sales have picked up enough to justify a (slightly) larger vehicle. The Honda CR-V has been the best-selling compact SUV for two decades. Honda practically invented the Crossover Segment, which is the preferred choice of most automobile buyers today. The family sedan has been dethroned, and it will never regain its position. We’ve said before that electric bikes will have their Crossover Moment. It’s only a matter of time.
From Honda’s PR:
Based on an all-new platform architecture, the new CR-V also targets the highest levels of quality and driving refinement in its class, including top-in-class cabin quietness, steering precision, ride comfort and body control — all designed to imbue the CR-V with a polished, fun-to-drive persona.
With nearly 4 million units sold, Honda’s Compact Recreational Vehicle clearly has a huge fan-base. You may be driving one yourself, or have owned a CR-V before. If not then you probably know someone who has/had a CR-V. Everyone dreams of driving a sexy red sports car — mine would be an Alfa Romeo 4c — but at the end of the day smart customers buy what works best for them. Honda has built it’s reputation by making practical and reliable vehicles at affordable prices. Now in its fifth generation, the CR-V has evolved and improved based on customer feedback and continues to lead the SUV segment. It may even become Honda’s best-selling vehicle period.
While other bike brands keep introducing ever more expensive ebikes for only the wealthiest customers, we’ll continue to make fast, fun and dependable bikes that offer great value to customers. I imagine it’s what Soichiro Honda would do if he was still making bicycles with motors.
Cheers,
Hong
