Electronic motorcycles get $28M funding injection

Polaris Industries leads second round of funding for Brammo's electronic motorcycles

A motorcycle company bringing sexy into the electric vehicle market has landed another $28 million in its second round of funding.

Ashland, Ore.-based Brammo, Inc., has seen current shareholder Alpine Energy and new investors Polaris Industries, NorthPort Investments LLC inject some serious fuel in the electric vehicle company with four current motorcycle models that range in price from $7,995 to $15,000.

The company is also poised to announce a fifth motorcycle model called the Excite MMX Pro which is in pre-order status.

This round of funding was collected to accelerate the companies developments and broaden the expertise on staff.

"Brammo and its partners are combining forces to gain dominance in the EV power sports market," said Brammo, Inc. founder and CEO Craig Bramscher, in a statement. "We now have the ability to maintain our high standards of quality while we innovate and commercialize at speed, and this enables us to better serve our customers and build a sustainable advantage."

The first round of funding Brammo acquired was in 2008, to the tune of $11 million -- that brings the Brammo funding to $39 million.

Brammo has found success in its electronic, and might I add surprisingly sleek and sexy, motorcycles because of the battery and powertrain technology it uses that can later be applied to power other vehicles.

The connection with Polaris industries is a strategic one, since Polaris currently designs and manufactures off-road vehicles and last year clocked in sales near $2 billion. The power-sport company is likely looking to get its hands on the electronic technology to offer EV versions of its best sellers, such as ATVs and snowmobiles.

In April, Polaris announced that it would acquire Global Electric Motors, a subsidiary of Chrysler Group LLC (which claimed nearly $30 million in sales for 2010.)

From the Polaris and Brammo partnership, Brammo is also gaining access to the electronics manufacturer Flextronics, which will optimize that supply chain and improve the battery packaging technology for the motorcycle company. This is the scaling connection that Brammo has needed to really gain traction in the EV market.

Here is a quick look at what I might refer to as the sexy motocycle counterpart to Tesla's solution for the frumpy electronic vehicle market.

Enertia

Engage

Empluse

Image Source -- Brammo.com