Electric scooter to charge into U.S.
By Michael Kanellos
Story last modified Wed May 16 11:35:31 PDT 2007
AUSTIN, Texas--You've heard a lot about electric sports cars. Now a new generation of electric scooters is coming to town.
The Maxi-Scooter from Vectrix, an all-electric scooter that can go from 0 to 50 miles per hour in 6.8 seconds, will soon be available in the U.S., Jeff Morrill, director of marketing for the Americas for the company, said at the Clean Energy Venture Summit taking place here this week.
Like electric car companies such as Tesla Motors, Vectrix is attempting to show that electric vehicles are a practical option for getting around town and that they can compete on many fronts with traditional gas burners. The $11,000 scooter, which runs on nickel metal hydride batteries, can hit 62 miles per hour, go from 0 to 30 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds, and can be recharged in 2.5 hours from a standard outlet. (Eighty percent of the battery can be recharged in two hours.)
It will go about 68 miles at 25 mph before needing a recharge, Morrill said. And, like other scooters and motorcycles, you can store helmets and other items in an empty space below the seat. The bike is powered by a hub motor on the rear wheel. continues »
The Maxi Scooter from Vectrix, an all-electric two-wheeler that can go from 0 to 50 miles per hour in 6.8 seconds, will soon be available in the United States for about $11,000.
"We want to be the first zero-emission, high-performance, street-legal consumer electric vehicle," said Jeff Morrill, Vectrix's director of marketing for the Americas.
Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com
Vectrix is attempting to show that electric vehicles are a practical option for getting around town and that they can compete on many fronts with traditional gas burners. The scooter, which runs on nickel metal hydride batteries, can hit 62 miles per hour and can be recharged in 2.5 hours from a standard outlet. It is already on sale in Italy.
Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com
The bike is powered by a hub motor on the rear wheel and makes no noise at all. The word "go" is displayed in the speedometer so the scooter operator knows the engine is on.
Credit: Michael Kanellos/CNET News.com
