Pour one out for GenZe, the only made-in-America electric two-wheeler business. Owned by Indian conglomerate Mahindra Group, GenZe is a California-based startup that delivered electric two-wheelers for the U.S. market.
While the parent company is in India, GenZe is as American as it gets, building and assembling all products in their catalog in Detroit, Michigan, without outsourcing anything. The company will be completely dissolved within the next six months, it has been announced.
Like most businesses (and not just in the U.S.), GenZe shuttered earlier this year, as a result of the international health crisis. Late last week, while announcing the financial results for the fourth quarter of the financial year 2019-2020, Mahindra said the U.S. subsidiary would never reopen. GenZe will be dissolved.
GenZe offered a wide array of electric bicycles and electric scooters, many of which are still used by ride-sharing programs and in delivery fleets. The electric scooter, GenZe 2.0, for one, stood out as a solid choice for delivery and running errands, given its good range, decent speed and, perhaps just as important, generous storage space in the back. It was also on the affordable side, considering its many perks.
According to Mahindra, all GenZe inventory will be sold off. As of the moment of writing, GenZe is holding a massive sale, so if you’re in the U.S. and would love a (last) chance at snapping up a good electric two-wheeler on discount, now’s the time. Mahindra estimates that all stock will be sold off in six months.
GenZe intellectual property will be used for Mahindra Electric or for another brand within the Mahindra Group, the same report notes. While this is the good news because it means GenZe products will still live on, albeit under a different form, it’s not enough to erase the bitter taste left behind by the knowledge that the only made-in-America electric two-wheeler business is no more.