New E-scoots round up

It seems that in our focus on the latest motorcycle releases we haven’t really talked about some of the new electric scooter releases that have been announced.

It seems that in our focus on the latest motorcycle releases we haven’t really talked about some of the new electric scooter releases that have been announced:

MINI Scooter E Concept

You could argue that this new electric scooter was inspired by a 2006 BMW Canada April Fools joke that featured a new “Mini Skini” scooter – a scooter based on the Mini car. Well, the Skini was supposedly powered by a 220cc four stroke motor and, amongst other things, included front and rear air bags …

Not so much of a joke anymore …

Well, maybe it wasn’t such a joke after all as late last month BMW/Mini released their concept MINI scooter, which is powered by an electric motor built into the rear wheel (no doubt to help draw attention to the new Mini electric car). The battery can be recharged by plugging the bike into a standard electrical outlet, using the on-board cable.

The scoots come in three designs; a two-seater homage to the Mini car, a single-seater sporty styled scoot with leather seat and British racing green paint with the third being an homage to the mods with white paint, Union Jack emblems, and red, white and blue RAF logos.

Perhaps one of the coolest features of the concept is the use of a smart phone that can be docked in the centre console as an integral part of the display. There will be a special app that will also show the rider where other Mini scooter riders are so that you can track each other down and mate (though we hope texting options would be disabled!).

No more details as of yet but we do have a video:

Smart E-Scooter

Maybe not as stylish as the Mini, but just as technologically packed!

Not to be outdone Daimler also recently unveiled their electric scooter, which will be launched under their Smart car brand.

The Smart E-Scooter should have a top speed of 45 km/h with a range of up to 100 km. Like the Mini, the motor is inside the rear wheel hub and pumps out a claimed 4 KW.

Charging, too, is by a standard electrical outlet and should take three to five hours to complete, though there’s an in-built solar panel in the front that will help if you live anywhere other than BC.

Other nifty features include a fold out pillion seat and pegs, Blind Spot Assist (to warn if a cager gets too close) ABS, and even an air bag integrated into the paneling beneath the bars. Front braking is by conventional disc though the rear uses regenerative braking to allow some of that kinetic energy to recharge the battery.

Fill her up!

Much like the Mini, the Smart uses a smart phone (they lucked out with the naming on this one) as an integral part of the display, serving as the speedo, battery charge and range meter, as well as navigation device.

No word on whether they’ll have an app to find fellow Smart scooter riders, but maybe they could use the Mini’s app so that they can find them and give them the finger and run them off the road.

Let’s not forget the Peugeot E-Vivacity

Hopefully Peugeot will update the styling before releasing next year.

Peugeot claim to be the first manufacturer of a mass produced electric scooter with a Scoot’elec machine introduced back in 2006. Well, they announced its replacement back in 2009 —the E-Vivacity scooter (first which should be coming as a 2011 model.

The scooter claims 4 KW of power (similar to a 50cc scoot), top speed of 45 km/h and a range of 80 to 100 km before charging. They also say that the braking system converts some of the kinetic energy back to charge the batteries.

Otherwise there’s cable built in that if plugged to a 230 V supply will recharge the battery to 80% in 2 hours, with a full charge in four.

Seems like they’ll have some tough competition with the Mini and the Smart …