As reported by MoreBikes in the UK, BMW has recently filed for 11 patents in Germany, all of them related to electric bikes. 9 of the 11 patents also contain the word, or tags, related to DC.
The biggest implication of this is that the BMW Vision DC Roadster concept from 2019 might actually be coming as a production electric motorcycle.
But, the question remains, why 9 patents with the word DC?
The current thought is that there could be 9 variants of the DC, such as street, adventure, touring, roadster, et al, with different battery sizes or powertrains.
Another thought is that the DC name might become the BMW tag with which all of their electric bikes may carry.
It’s not beyond thought that BMW may be investing heavily in the electric bike market, with their car brand bringing out no less than three new electric or hybrid models in the next two years. As well, companies such as Zero, Energica, and Arc are rapidly gaining popularity and poking the market share balance towards the electric side of things.
The other two patents that BMW filed are marked CE 02 and CE04. These could easily be new versions or evolutions of the C Evolution electric scooter.
All in all, when a big motorcycle company puts big money into electric-powered vehicles of both the two-wheel and four-wheel variety, it shows just how far the industry has shifted and will continue to shift.