To get to the Ray Electric Motors factory, you have to leave Barcelona and go to Sant Joan Despí. Being able to make this journey on one of the low-power electric motorcycles that are usually seen around the city is crazy. Aware that interurban travel is the key to mobility, the company led by Iñigo Raventós has developed from scratch an electric scooter designed with a metropolitan vision, designed and manufactured here and adapted to the current context that demands a reduction in emissions.
Founded in 2019, the company will begin series production of its first model, the Ray 7.7, during the month of June. With a power equivalent to 125 cubic centimeters, this electric motorcycle can reach up to 125 kilometers per hour and can now be reserved online starting from 7,500 euros. For an average user, it has a range of 150 kilometers. It has an integrated charger and only needs to be plugged into the current, whether in the home parking lot or at a public charger. In addition, it incorporates new technologies such as a navigator with Bluetooth connection to the mobile application developed by the company. It also allows adjusting the seat height and reversing to facilitate maneuvers.
The plant where they will manufacture it has an area of 3,000 square meters and a maximum capacity of 20,000 motorcycles per year. During this 2021, they expect to produce about 1,000 motorcycles and grow exponentially. Raventós, accompanied by the marketing director, Gorka Lozano, explains that they have ambitious goals, but that they want to go little by little. "We will grow for sure, how we will do it remains to be seen," Raventós emphasizes. First, the company must be consolidated and its first model matured. Afterwards, more electric motorcycles will come.
Ray Electric Motors clearly bets on local suppliers, as Raventós and Lozano emphasize. 80% are Spanish, most located within a radius of less than 150 kilometers, and 90% are European. The company follows this model for several reasons: faster supply, better quality control, smaller environmental footprint, and to support the local economy.
Expansion to European cities by 2022
Since its birth, the company has had a budget of three million euros. The company started with 700,000 euros contributed by its founders, Raventós, a member of the Codorníu family, and Juan Luque Masó, and closed a financing round at the end of last year of 2.5 million euros, with the participation of the Institut Català de Finances (ICF). The workforce is around 20 employees and they intend to keep growing.
The Ray 7.7 will soon be seen in the store that the company will open in Barcelona, which will join the one at the Sant Joan Despí plant. During this year, they will open more establishments in other parts of Spain, starting with Madrid. The expansion into Europe will arrive in 2022, going to cities like Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt or Munich.