IMI, Zero’s electric motorcycles headed for EU market

• Integrated Micro-Electronics to produce and export high-powered electric “big bikes” to the European Union

• The Ayala subsidiary has partnered with Zero Motorcycles to manufacture full-sized all-electric motorcycles

• The Philippines’ first electric motorcycle assembly line is located in Biñan, Laguna

Electric motorcycles being produced by Integrated Micro-Electronics Inc. (IMI) and Zero Motorcycles are primarily for export to the European Union.

“In the first few years, the majority of the motorcycles that IMI will be producing for us will be for export to the EU market,” Sam Paschel, chief executive of California-based Zero Motorcycles, said in a television interview on Tuesday, July 25. Zero Motorcycles is a US manufacturer of 100% electric motorcycles.

Paschel added that the EU remains Zero’s largest market for its electric motorcycles.

Zero Motorcycles on March 29, 2023 announced its collaboration with IMI, Ayala Group’s electronics manufacturing unit, for the first electric big bike assembly line in the Philippines, specifically in Biñan, Laguna.

The facility was inaugurated on July 19.

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The US manufacturer sells an array of electric motorcycles with a range of up to more than 300 kilometers capable of producing 110 horsepower and hitting top speeds of 200 kms per hour, according to its website.

IMI will be assembling batteries and motors, building all the electronics that make up the core of the operating system of Zero’s electric motorcycle, Paschel said.

He added that while Zero sees these motorcycles being sold in the Philippines, the company is “not solely reliant” on sales in the country, as these electric vehicles need investments in public battery-charging infrastructure.

IMI chief executive Arthur Tan, meanwhile, said he expects the factory to contribute to the e-bike market’s growth, locally and globally.

“So this is something that we’re looking not just to serve the Philippine market, which is quite nascent, but also the global market, especially out in Europe and the rest of Asia,” he said, adding that the country could be the leader in the e-bike industry in the region.

“So, being able to make that transition to the electric motorcycle not only cuts the operating cost and the fuel cost that’s necessary to drive our economy but also, in general, allow us now to become the leader in this segment within the region,” he said.