Photo: Polaris
In September last year, electric motorcycle manufacturer Zero announced a partnership with Polaris to create new electric vehicles. Almost six months later, news of the first development coming from this collaboration broke.
The American manufacturer of motorcycles, snowmobiles, ATVs and other contraptions currently sells a large portfolio of vehicles. Among them, the Ranger, a side-by-side coming in no fewer than 16 variations, including an electric one.
The current Ranger EV, selling from $11,899, is powered by a single 48-volt induction motor good for 30 hp that draws power from a traditional lead-acid battery. The hardware on it will probably change, as it is the Ranger that was chosen to be the first product jointly developed by Polaris and Zero.
“The strength of our partnership with Zero Motorcycles and our own investments in electrification R&D enable us to leverage advancements in electric powertrains and performance to drive the off-road industry into the future,” said in a statement Mike Donoughe, senior vice president and chief technical officer, Polaris Inc.
“This will be one of the most technically advanced off-road vehicles on the market and reinforces Polaris’ position as the innovation leader in powersports.”
No details on the side-by-side have been released so far, but Polaris says its unveiling will take place in December 2021, and the first production vehicles should arrive at dealerships in the early months of next year. Obviously, we’ll probably not see all that many visual changes, but not the same can be said about what makes it tick.
As per the deal between the two, Zero will develop the powertrain technology—that means both hardware and the electronic software—while Polaris will handle the development and manufacture of the rest of the vehicles.
The partnership with Zero is part of Polaris’ rEV’d up strategy that aims of making the company the leader of the electrified powersports market. To that end, we can expect an electric vehicle option for each of its core product families by the middle of the decade.
The current Ranger EV, selling from $11,899, is powered by a single 48-volt induction motor good for 30 hp that draws power from a traditional lead-acid battery. The hardware on it will probably change, as it is the Ranger that was chosen to be the first product jointly developed by Polaris and Zero.
“The strength of our partnership with Zero Motorcycles and our own investments in electrification R&D enable us to leverage advancements in electric powertrains and performance to drive the off-road industry into the future,” said in a statement Mike Donoughe, senior vice president and chief technical officer, Polaris Inc.
“This will be one of the most technically advanced off-road vehicles on the market and reinforces Polaris’ position as the innovation leader in powersports.”
No details on the side-by-side have been released so far, but Polaris says its unveiling will take place in December 2021, and the first production vehicles should arrive at dealerships in the early months of next year. Obviously, we’ll probably not see all that many visual changes, but not the same can be said about what makes it tick.
As per the deal between the two, Zero will develop the powertrain technology—that means both hardware and the electronic software—while Polaris will handle the development and manufacture of the rest of the vehicles.
The partnership with Zero is part of Polaris’ rEV’d up strategy that aims of making the company the leader of the electrified powersports market. To that end, we can expect an electric vehicle option for each of its core product families by the middle of the decade.
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