Zeno launches electric motorcycle in two markets

From the newsletter

Electric motorcycle startup Zeno has opened sales for its Emara electric motorcycle in India, and limited pre-orders in Kenya. Customers can buy the motorcycles outright or pay over 24 months. Zeno secured $9.5 million seed funding last year from Lowercarbon Capital, Toyota Ventures, 4DX Ventures, Active Impact, Advantedge, MCJ, and RedBlue.

• Zeno’s Emara has a multi-modal charging ecosystem (battery swapping, fast charging, home charging), which is useful when facing range anxiety in markets where charging and swapping stations are still limited. 

• The company faces stiff competition in both Kenya and India, which have dozens and hundreds of electric motorcycle companies respectively, buoyed by growing consumer demand.   

More details

• The Emara has a 250 kg load capacity, range of 100 km and high ground clearance, which make it well-suited for rugged roads, a key advantage in African and South Asian markets. According to the company, the Emara is designed to outperform 150cc petrol motorcycles, offering better load capacity, durability, and cost savings.

• Zeno’s primary customer target are motorcycle taxi drivers, who often cover up to 150 km daily on rugged terrain while transporting heavy loads especially in rural areas. The firm, founded in 2021 by Michael Spencer, a former Tesla employee, has future plans to expand across Africa, India and Latin America.

• The startup uses a battery-as-a-service subscription model, allowing customers to purchase the motorcycle upfront and subscribe to access both the battery and Zeno's charging network. Customers can choose to swap the battery at a swapping station or charge it at home or at a public fast charger.

• In India, the price of the Emara, which has a range of 100 km and peak power of 8 kW, ranges between $1,000 and $1,500. Zeno has yet to reveal its price for Kenya but is expected to be revealed next week. Pricing of the motorcycle, which can carry two battery packs, will be key, as it’s the single biggest driver of demand.

• Zeno has been on a hiring spree in recent months as it prepares to scale operations. The company has advertised dozens of positions, including engineering, operations, information technology and sales roles, which will be key for its expansion.

• The startup’s expansion will however be heavily tied on how much money it can raise from investors to scale. This will be key as it will be competing with juggernauts like Spiro, which has raised millions of dollars in funding. This has funded its expansion into eight markets in Africa.

• Zeno’s launch comes at an ideal time when demand for electric motorcycles in Africa is rising rapidly, with some companies struggling to meet demand. The overall two-wheeler market in Africa is substantial, valued at $3.68 Billion in 2024 and projected to reach $6.51 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 9.95%. Electric two and three-wheelers are expected to capture 50% of all motorcycle sales by 2040. 

Our take

• Zeno has designed its motorcycle with Africa’s rugged rural setting and heavy load usage in mind. In addition to its capability to be charged at home, these attributes could make the Emara especially attractive to rural buyers.

• Kenya and India offer Zeno an ideal testing ground for its motorcycle, and will provide crucial lessons for the company’s planned expansion across Africa and Southeast Asia where market conditions will likely be quite similar.  

• Access to flexible financing options will be pivotal for Zeno’s success, especially in rural parts of Kenya and India where buyers will struggle to purchase the motorcycles upfront. While the pay-as-you-go model is expensive for buyers in the long term, it can help the company scale faster.