The archive · Product Ideas · Product decision · 2022–2024
Maeving's RM1 dresses electric commuting in timeless British motorcycle styling
The £5k RM1 pairs removable-battery electric power with classic UK motorcycle design — the best-selling e-commuter, with 60% first-time buyers
Maeving
What it had to solve
Urban air pollution demanded a shift to electric commuting, but the people who could change city journeys most were those who had never bought a motorbike. Maeving wanted an e-commuter that non-motorbike users would actually choose.
How it works
Maeving's project was environmental behavior change: an urban electric motorbike engineered to combat air pollution by promoting electric commuting, aimed at people who did not already ride.
The design move was to blend cutting-edge technology with timeless UK motorcycle design, so the RM1 looked like a motorcycle someone wanted before it had to explain itself as an electric vehicle. A removable battery system gives a customizable 40-80 mile range, top speed is 45 mph, and the price is £5k.
The result, recorded in the D&AD entry, was that the RM1 became the fastest and best-selling e-commuter motorbike and 60% of buyers were first-time bike purchasers — evidence that styling plus simple range logistics pulled non-riders into electric commuting.
Why it lands
- Timeless UK motorcycle design made the RM1 desirable to non-riders before the electric technology had to be explained.
- A removable battery system answered the category's practical fears about where to charge and how far the bike goes.
- At £5k with a 45 mph urban spec, the bike was an affordable city commuter rather than a premium electric vehicle.
- A 60% first-time-buyer share showed the design was expanding the category, not just selling to existing riders.
What it did
The RM1 became the fastest and best-selling e-commuter motorbike, and 60% of its buyers were first-time bike purchasers — a shift of newcomers into electric urban mobility recorded in the D&AD entry.
What you can take
To draw non-users into a new category, sell the familiar object first: classic styling makes an electric bike desirable before its tech needs explaining; removable batteries kill the charging fear.
Since then
The RM1 entered the D&AD awards archive as an example of product design aimed at behavior change: an electric commuter whose first job was to be wanted. Its heritage styling and removable-battery logic stayed the brand's core argument for converting non-riders, and the entry documents the 60% first-time-buyer rate as evidence the approach worked.
Sources
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