Oakland, California, has an deserted automotive drawback. Over six months in 2023, individuals reported practically 14,000 deserted vehicles to town, and the state of affairs has worsened in 2024. The metropolis is working out of house to retailer the automobiles, resorting to stacking them on high of one another in some cases, and residents are fed up and annoyed with all of the vehicles.
The automobiles litter town’s streets, blocking entry to houses, companies, and even colleges whereas chewing up beneficial parking house. ABC 7 News Bay Area went on a ride-along with Oakland council member Noel Gallo, uncovering practically 50 deserted vehicles in about half-hour, all in numerous states of disrepair. Many had been stolen and stripped for elements, whereas others had been victims of smash-and-grab operations.
According to ABC 7’s report, the Oakland Police Department will solely reply if a car is obstructing entry to a house. The Oakland Department of Transportation handles all the opposite deserted automobiles, and it might probably take time to take away a automotive.
The metropolis has so many abandoned cars that it pays practically $1 million yearly in storage prices, with one lot containing for than 2,000 automobiles. However, reduction may quickly be coming as metropolis council members voted for elevated funding to resolve the difficulty, hiring a number of tow firms whereas using parking tons from the California Department of Transportation. The metropolis can be hiring 15 extra parking management technicians who will hit the streets this yr.
While we will not say for positive that plan will not work out, we can say that issues look decidedly murkier than they may have final month.
On February 1, 2024, a number of Swedish enterprise information retailers reported that Cake Motorcycles is within the technique of submitting for chapter. RideApart has reached out to Cake Motorcycles for remark and can replace this piece with any response we obtain.
Cake x Vattenfall: Cleanest Dirt Bike Ever undertaking, which the 2 firms started collectively pursuing in 2022.
What Went Wrong?
Multiple elements added up directly, in response to what Cake CEO Stefan Ytterborn instructed the Swedish monetary newspaper Dagens Industri. The most up-to-date blow got here within the type of failed negotiations for Cake’s most up-to-date spherical of funding, which apparently fell by means of utterly on January 31, 2024.
Fellow Swedish enterprise publication Breakit reported on January 24, 2024 that Cake’s monetary state of affairs was so dire that it could not pay salaries for its roughly 139 workers.
“It is not one but several circumstances that have caused us to end up in this situation. Climate issues are no longer in focus, we are in a recession. It’s about us, but it’s also about the venture capital ecosystem. At the moment it is completely dead, there are no takers in the later phase Cake is in,” Ytterborn instructed DI.
One of these elements, in response to Ytterborn, was the belief which you can’t count on folks to pay 40,000 Swedish Krona (that is about $3,811 USD at present conversion charges) for one thing on-line that they have not ridden. The firm’s preliminary direct-to-consumer web site gross sales plan, he mentioned, could be extra probably to attract buyer curiosity if they’d higher alternatives for check rides.
By 2023, there have been a better variety of client (not enterprise fleet) gross sales, thanks partially to creating the bikes extra accessible for check rides of their current markets. Still, the corporate bought round 6,000 bikes final yr in complete. It estimates that it will not obtain profitability till it could possibly promote 7,500 to 10,000 bikes a yr, on the very least.
Cake reportedly additionally has six completely different share courses for traders, with differing guidelines about which courses get dividends earlier than different courses. This disincentivizes potential shareholders from wanting to affix a decrease class that’s much less more likely to obtain dividends.
Swedish Companies Registration Office Confirms The Filing
Cake Motorcycles Bankruptcy Proceedings Initiated – Swedish Companies Registration Office Screenshot captured on February 2, 2024
A public data search reveals that chapter proceedings for Cake formally started in Sweden on February 1, 2024. It’s not but clear how this story will play out, as a result of the proceedings are nonetheless in progress.
What we are able to let you know is that DI studies six entities as the most important shareholders within the firm. They are:
Shareholder
Percentage of Cake Motorcycles Owned
AMF (Swedish pension firm)
11.3%
Stefan Ytterborn, Cake CEO
10.4%
Creandum (Swedish enterprise capital firm)
10.4%
Back in Black Capital
9.3%
Headline (American VC agency)
9.2%
Rutger Arnhult
6.4%
For a radical rundown of the corporate’s financials, together with its losses, the DI piece is value a learn (keep in mind, we’re RideApart, not FinanceApart).
At the time of writing, Cake has but to difficulty any official assertion relating to any of this information. The most up-to-date official assertion out there on Cake’s web site was posted on January 25, 2024, and regards the corporate’s proud announcement of a brand new distribution community for its bikes within the Czech Republic.
RideApart will proceed to report any info we study, together with any official statements from Cake as they come up.
Several luxurious automakers reported gross sales features in 2023, and a few even achieved file deliveries. Bentley wasn’t amongst them. The high-end British model truly noticed its quantity fall 11 % yr over yr.
Bentley moved 13,560 automobiles in 2023 versus 15,174 fashions in 2022. The Americas have been the corporate’s largest market but once more, with 3,848 deliveries. That quantity is down 9 % from the earlier yr. You can see all the figures within the desk beneath.
Market
2023 Sales
2022 Sales
Percent Change
Americas
3,848
4,221
-9 Percent
Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong, And Macao
3,006
3,655
-18 Percent
Europe
2,376
2,809
-15 Percent
Asia Pacific
2,123
2,031
5 Percent
United Kingdom
1,218
1,490
-18 Percent
Middle East, India and Africa
989
968
2 Percent
Total
13,560
15,174
-11 Percent
Things weren’t too bleak for Bentley, although, as 2023 was nonetheless its third-highest yr for gross sales within the firm’s historical past. Plus, personalization grew to become an much more vital a part of the enterprise, rising by 43 % over 2022.
On October 26, 2023, Harley-Davidson released its financial results for the third quarter of 2023. The company reported an increase of 25 percent in CVO retail sales, which was seen as positive news. However, a closer examination of the revenue and motorcycle sales figures revealed a less optimistic outlook.
Harley-Davidson divides its reporting into three segments: Harley-Davidson Motor Company (excluding LiveWire), Harley-Davidson Financial Services, and LiveWire. This reporting structure has been in place since LiveWire became its own separate company in 2022.
Combined, these segments form Harley-Davidson Incorporated, which reports its Consolidated Financial Results. In comparison to the third quarter of 2022, the Motor Company reported a 24 percent decrease in profits. As a result, stock shares fell by 11 percent in response to this news, according to Reuters.
Turning our attention to motorcycle sales, Harley-Davidson reported a decline in retail sales across all geographic regions for the third quarter of 2023. Worldwide sales decreased by 16 percent compared to the same period last year.
Here is a breakdown of the sales by region: North America experienced a 15 percent decrease, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa saw a 13 percent decline (EMEA), Asia Pacific sales dropped by 24 percent, and Latin America experienced an 11 percent decrease in the third quarter of 2023.
It’s worth noting that LiveWire, Harley-Davidson’s electric motorcycle, is reported differently than its traditional motorcycles. LiveWire’s figures represent “Electric Motorcycle Shipments” rather than sales. In the third quarter of 2023, a total of 50 LiveWire electric motorcycles were shipped, marking a 76 percent decrease from the 206 shipments in the same period of 2022.
Considering LiveWire is still in its early stages and new technologies often face challenges, it is important to keep expectations in check. Additionally, Harley-Davidson only recently started selling its bikes in Europe, a market where electric motorbikes have gained more acceptance.
While electric motorcycles have gained popularity in Europe and Asia, the adoption rate in the US has been slower. As LiveWire establishes itself in Europe and other international markets, particularly with the S2 Del Mar model, it is hoped that it will find a more receptive audience.
Back in March 2023, we reported that British electric motorcycle startup Maeving was planning to bring its bikes to the US relatively soon, likely in late 2023 or early 2024. The firm’s first bike, the RM1, had a stylish flat-tracker design and offered a top speed of 45 miles per hour and a range of 80 miles per charge, making it ideal for city commuting.
On August 31, 2023, Maeving opened preorders for its second model, the RM1S, which is faster and more powerful. Currently, these preorders are only available for UK customers. However, the increased speed and power of the RM1S make it an attractive option for launching the Maeving brand in the US, according to Cycle World.
The design of the RM1S is instantly recognizable if you’ve seen the Maeving R1M, and it comes in 11 different color options. The claimed top speed of the RM1S is 65 mph, which may not be as fast as a race bike but should appeal to a wider range of riders.
16Photos
The RM1S has a battery range of up to 80 miles, and it offers two charging options, unlike the slower RM1 which only supports one. Both models allow riders to remove the batteries for off-bike charging, but only the RM1S allows riders to charge the bike directly.
In the UK, the RM1S is compatible with compulsory basic training (CBT) and is suitable for new riders. It features a 7-kilowatt motor with a claimed peak power of 10.5 kW.
The preorder price for the RM1S in the UK is £7,495 ($9,436 as of September 1, 2023). However, pricing in different markets may vary, and it’s not clear how Maeving plans to distribute its bikes in the US.
Other electric startups like Ubco and Cake initially sold directly to US consumers through their websites before expanding to brick-and-mortar stores and establishing a wider distribution network. Maeving’s stylish design, influenced by former Triumph employees, is expected to attract fans in the US. The ultimate test will be the riding experience and customer service. We are excited to see what Maeving has in store for the future.
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