During the 2022 EICMA Motorcycle Show in Milan, President of Kawasaki Motors Corp. Hiroshi Ito unveiled a range of pre-production and prototype Kawasaki models and announced Kawasaki’s company-wide vision focused on carbon neutrality.
Earlier this year, Kawasaki announced its first electric model with the Kawasaki Elektrode electric balance bike for kids aged three to eight, which are arriving in dealerships this month. The next battery electric Z family machine was first shown as a prototype at Intermot, only for Ito to unveil a Ninja-style machine with the same dual battery power. Both Z and Ninja battery electric vehicles (BEV) will look to be available later next year in the U.S. market.
Highlighting Kawasaki research and development into other innovative vehicle types, Ito also previewed Kawasaki’s first ever hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) in prototype form. The HEV motorcycle will be able to quickly and easily switch between its internal combustion engine (ICE) and electric power. The HEV machine is currently set to be available in 2024.
Demonstrating Kawasaki’s full breadth of carbon neutral models, an experimental hydrogen-powered display engine based on the Supercharged Ninja H2 using direct injection and compressed gaseous hydrogen was shown. This hydrogen engine has been shown as a concept Ninja H2 platform as well as shown inserted into the chassis of a Teryx KRX 1000 side-by-side.
While underlining Kawasaki’s commitment to internal combustion engines and research into future fuel types, Ito also unveiled a new symbol headlining the new “Go with Green Power” initiative with its goal of achieving carbon neutrality for Kawasaki within a strategic timeframe.
Amidst so many attention-grabbing prototype and pre-production models, Ito additionally clarified that across the next two model years 2024 to 2025, Kawasaki plans to also introduce approximately 30 internal combustion engine motorcycle models globally.
The sentiment that Ito left the media audience with at EICMA was that Kawasaki will continue to provide products and services that meet the needs of its customers and society by harnessing advances in current vehicle technology and via new, environmentally friendly products that are carbon neutral.
