Best Buy Gearing Up Electric Vehicle Sales

Best Buy Gearing Up Electric Vehicle Sales

Best Buy, the nation's largest consumer-electronics retailer, has quietly begun offering electric-powered scooters, bicycles and Segway Inc. transporters in 19 locations in California, Oregon and Washington, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Best Buy told the newspaper that its electric vehicles push is part of a re-imagining of the company's product mix involving a corporate division known as Best Buy Labs, which is looking to make better use of the company's Geek Squad electronics technicians.

Industry experts told the Journal that electric vehicles won't be a cash cow for Best Buy anytime soon. But many concur that the investment could prove wise over time, noting that Best Buy has a history of sharp turns that have kept it ahead of competitors.

This summer, Best Buy introduces in some stores the Brammo Enertia, a futuristic electric motorcycle that can travel 45 miles at speeds of up to 50 miles per hour and plugs into a standard wall outlet. Best Buy wouldn't disclose when it will begin selling the motorcycle, but Brammo Inc. representatives told the Journal it would debut in a Portland store this month. It likely will be priced around $12,000.

Brammo Chief Executive Craig Bramscher, a former Internet entrepreneur, said he first approached Best Buy about selling his electric bikes two years ago after looking at their disassembled innards and realizing they resembled a computer server. "The motorcycles," Bramscher said, "are really consumer electronics you ride."

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.