KIWI RIDER 06 2019 VOL.2 | Page 91

BMW LAUNCHES E-SCOOTER ith the growing worldwide popularity of e-scooters as a mobility option, it was only a matter of time before a big-time player in the motorcycle world got in on the action. The BMW Group - particularly the BMW Lifestyle section of the German manufacturer – has announced it will launch a range of BMW E-Scooter later this year which has been developed in partnership with Micro Scooter developers Micro. As Roger Morony said in last month’s column, “e-scooters are the wild west of personal transport” but with a company as large as BMW now in on the game things could be in for quite the shakeup. For starters, BMW’s scoot is limited to 20km/h (versus the 30km/h Roger mentioned) and boasts a range of 12 kilometres per charge. As we know from Kiwi experience, braking systems on e-scooters need to be thorough. As such BMW has fitted their E-Scooter with two separate braking systems along with the lighting needed to help keep riders safe. As with all electric vehicles, charge time is an important factor to staying mobile. With a charge time of two hours the BMW E-Scooter can be charged in the time it takes to have a restaurant meal in the CBD. BMW will also offer a size-shifting BMW Kids Scooter for small children. BMW says kids from three years old can use it for balancing practice, and the seat surface opens to reveal space for a selection of favourite toys. For youngsters aged up to twelve, the seat can be simply taken off and the height of the handlebars adjusted as the rider gets taller. Currently, we have no word on whether the BMW E-Scoot or Kids Scooter will make its way to our shores, but if it does it might prevent a few of the ride-sharing e-scoots being dumped on every city street corner and that’d surely be a good thing. KIWI RIDER 91