Jeep's 1st EV: e-Mountain Bike

Jeep Goes Electric with a Powerful Mountain Bike

Jeep Super Bowl Ad: Bill Murray on RidgeRunner e-Bike

RidgeRunner:  Electrified Biking Jeep Style

Chrysler- Fiat's Jeep is going electric with a powerful electric mountain bike.  It's Jeep's first EV.  It's called the RidgeRunner Jeep Edition.  Jeep is partnering with the Colorado based e-bike builder QuietKat, which makes top-of-the-line e-bikes, costing as much as $6000. The Jeep RidgeRunner vehicle will be released for sale in June. Automotive industry experts are calling the e-bike "massively powerful".  Jeep claims "it's the most capable off-road e-mountain bike there is."

Plenty of Watts

Jeep's e-bike is equipped with a huge, 750 watt class 2 electric motor, backed up by a 48 volt battery with a range of 30 to 60 miles on a charge. This is a ten speed suspension bike with a 17 inch or 19 inch frame.  It weighs a hefty 80 pounds.. It can travel up to 25 mph.  It has thick tires to bike through difficult terrain, including snow, sand, rocks and gravel.  According to the company, the rear suspension linkage "has been fine-tuned" for maximum traction, capability and ride quality. Bottomline:  it's an electric muscle bike for enjoying the great outdoors with zero emissions. Jeep teased the bike in a Super Bowl commercial with actor Bill Murray riding it along with Puxatony Phil, the groundhog onboard.

E-Bikes $26 Billion Industry

In 2018, e-bike sales globally hit $18 billion.  The market is growing at a 6% annual rate through 2024.The e-bike industry is forecast to have a market valuation of $26 billion by 2025.  There is a lot of competition out there.  Jeep's new muscle electric mountain bike is said to offer Harley-Davidson's electric line-up of bikes, scooters and e-motorcycles like the LiveWire a great deal of competition. And GM is in the game, selling two electric bikes, the Meld and the Merge.  Right now, the GM e-bikes are only sold in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium.  Jeep has not set a price on the e-bike as of yet. Finally, it is clear that e-bikes are a big business avenue of global growth with no market hotter than Asia.