MCN exclusive: Suzuki boss discusses bikes of tomorrow

Suzuki’s general manager for motorcycle sales Akira Kyuji has confirmed to MCN that the Japanese firm remain on track to reveal their first electric two-wheeler next year, with further investment being directed into alternative, sustainable fuels.

“Unless something changes the situation drastically in the future… the development plan is as we planned,” Kyuji told MCN during an exclusive interview.

“They are coming,” he added. “Mainly, they will be small commuters – like a 125 equivalent commuter – because the space is so limited for motorcycles and scooters for batteries. 

“Even if we have the best quality battery, the range we can go is of course very limited, so that means we will start with commuters.”

Back in January 2023, Suzuki announced their first steps into a greener future, stating that they would introduce their first plug-in motorcycle for 2024 and roll out eight EV models by 2030.

The firm also revealed they would invest £12.4bn in R&D during that period and a further £15.5bn in capital expenditure across their entire field of operations, with £3.1bn of that to be used for battery-related investments.

Despite these investments, the company remains committed to the combustion engine – believing that electric technology still has some way to go to be viable for larger capacity motorcycles.

Kyuji explained: “[Electric] manufacturers like Harley-Davidson [now LiveWire], or Zero… the sales volumes are not so great. They are doing OK, but the volume is so limited. That means price and specs that the customers want are not matching at all right now. 

“I think it’s probably better for us to focus on alternative solutions like hydrogen, or e-fuels, or even biofuels,” he added. “If there’s a breakthrough in the technology, in the battery capacity, the pricing, and the space, then we can jump in that direction.

“But, unless we have some breakthrough like that it’s quite difficult, so probably we would [place] more priority on alternative solutions,” he continued.

These alternative directions include hydrogen – a solution that has previously met with heavy criticism from some industry experts. Undeterred, Suzuki revealed a Burgman 400 concept this year using a 70MPa hydrogen tank and hydrogen engine.

“The Burgman we showed at the Japan Mobility Show runs. But again, the same as a battery, the hydrogen we need for longer distance [means] we need more space,” the Suzuki boss added. “Again, there’s a storage space issue we are fighting. It’s feasible, but there are still many technological breakthroughs that we need.”

It’s this problem with housing the required hydrogen volume aboard the motorcycle that led Bosch’s Head of Two-Wheeler and Powersports unit, Geoff Liersch, to decree it wouldn’t be a viable future solution for the bike industry.

“Hydrogen as an alternative fuel is obviously something we’re looking into,” Liersch told MCN. “But, for a motorcycle, the physical tank that you need to do a decent distance is just not practical. So, therefore, I do not see that we have a technical solution that will run 100% hydrogen on a motorcycle.”

This was echoed by comments made by Michael Liebreich – a former advisor to the United Nations on sustainable energy.

“To go the same distance, you’d need three times the size of the petrol tank,” he said. “If you’ve got a fuel tank that holds a number of kilos of hydrogen, it would hold one third of the energy of petrol.”

And then there’s the environmental impact of producing the hydrogen itself – another problem that Suzuki are acutely aware of.

“To make hydrogen out of water – let’s say, for example – you need electricity,” Kyuji explained. “So, again, we need to really deal with the whole lifecycle assessment of where we can reduce carbon dioxide. If you reduce it on one end, but you’re generating more at the other end, it doesn’t make sense!”

Exactly how far and how fast the technology will progress remains to be seen, however it’s unlikely you’ll be riding one off of a forecourt any time soon.