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Indian Motorcycle trademarks name for its first electric motorcycle, the EFTR

Indian Motorcycle looks to be headed toward its first electric motorcycle based on a new trademark filed by the company.

[Update: Indian Motorcycle has responded saying that the EFTR will not be an electric version of the company’s existing FTR line (as we speculated below), but will instead be a “youth-oriented product.” It’s too soon to say what that could be, but the trademark specifically cites that it is for “electric motorcycles” and thus this could indicate a future youth-oriented electric motorbike.]

Is an electric Indian EFTR coming?

The company has just filed for a trademark for the name EFTR.

In a broad stroke, Indian Motorcycle reportedly made the filing on multiple continents including with the US Patent and Trademark Office, the EU Intellectual Property Office, and IP Australia.

Indian Motorcycle specifically laid out its intentions for the EFTR moniker regarding electric motorcycles, writing that the name was to be used for “Electric motorcycles and structural parts therefor.”

The company currently offers the sporty FTR 1200, which could indicate that the EFTR will be a high-powered electric motorcycle that could rival the H-D LiveWire. With Indian and Harley both targeting similar riders, the introduction of an electric Indian would certainly spice things up in the American electric motorcycle market.

eftr indian electric motorcycle

Indian FTR 1200 motorcycle — could this be the basis for an Indian EFTR?

The move could also mean that Harley-Davidson would finally face competition on the electric front from another legacy motorcycle manufacturer.

Currently, the H-D LiveWire is the only commercially available electric motorcycle manufactured by a predominantly gas-motorcycle company. But that could be changing if Indian makes progress on its EFTR.

The trademark filing of course doesn’t include specifics about the design direction of the EFTR, but there may be a few more clues lurking out there.

Indian Motorcycle is now owned by Polaris, which also owned the electric motorcycle company Victory.

Back in 2015,Victory rolled out the Empulse TT but was shuttered by Polaris not long after. Polaris also owns GEM and thus could perhaps rely on some developments from that NEV platform, though the smaller motors and lower capacity batteries aren’t likely to be directly useful for the EFTR.

As it stands, the EFTR would mark Polaris’ first return to electric motorcycles since the Empulse TT. But whether or not Indian would make use of any of Victory’s or Brammo’s R&D still owned by Polaris remains to be seen.

Electrek’s Take

Well, jeez… it’s about time for another major manufacturer to get into the electric game!

While I’m quite happy with pretty much everything about the LiveWire except for its price tag, I still think its ridiculous that the only legacy motorcycle manufacturer in 2020 with a commercially available electric motorcycle is Harley-Davidson.

The Japanese are starting make progress but are likely still years away from fielding a commercially available electric bike. I don’t expect to see Indian roll a production vehicle out in the next year or two, but a prototype would sure be nice. And the (admittedly small) step of filing for Indian’s first electric motorcycle’s trademark is good news about what’s to come from the company.

What do you think? Will an Indian EFTR find a place in the market? Let us know in the comment section below!

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Author

Avatar for Micah Toll Micah Toll

Micah Toll is a personal electric vehicle enthusiast, battery nerd, and author of the Amazon #1 bestselling books DIY Lithium Batteries, DIY Solar Power, The Ultimate DIY Ebike Guide and The Electric Bike Manifesto.

The e-bikes that make up Micah’s current daily drivers are the $999 Lectric XP 2.0, the $1,095 Ride1Up Roadster V2, the $1,199 Rad Power Bikes RadMission, and the $3,299 Priority Current. But it’s a pretty evolving list these days.

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