At the moment, nothing is stopping Chinese manufacturers in the electric vehicle segment. Ninebot has just released the eMoped C range, with three models of adorable little electric scooters, the youngest of which is sold for less than a high-end smartphone. It only remains to wait for such a model to arrive in Europe.
These last years, Xiaomi is one of the smartphone manufacturers who have helped to change the image of made-in-China with devices that are certainly very inexpensive, but also very well made. But the electronics giant does not intend to confine itself to mobile, and makes it known by being very aggressive in other markets such as that of electric vehicles. For some time, the manufacturer has even been flooding the entry level with different models of electric scooter, in particular through his foal Ninebot. Their main distinguishing feature: prices that make your eyes widen. The C30, the brand’s latest addition, is offered at 3,600 yuan in China, ie … 445 euros, which is roughly the price of a Huawei P30 and half that of a Samsung Galaxy S20 ! A derisory cost when compared to the average prices of equivalent vehicles in Europe, which very rarely fall below the € 2,500 mark. Moreover, it is even lower than the vast majority of electric bikes on the market, which start around € 800 for brands in general sports stores (there are, however, cheaper Chinese models).
All the devices in the range will be supplied with an application that will allow you to unlock your scooter very quickly, either with a swipe or simply by approaching the vehicle. Conversely, it locks itself as soon as its user moves away from it. Visually, we are dealing with a small two-wheeler with a modern look, even almost a bit cartoonish, with its pastel colors, small diameter wheels and thin frame. The possibility of adding a seat is also welcome, and it seems in any case to correspond to the core target target of the brand, namely an audience of adolescents and young adults.
It is a scooter entirely designed for the city: with just 35km of autonomy for the C30, there is no question of considering a large mop in the hinterland unless you multiply the recharging breaks. Note that there are two other versions, the C60 and C80, which allow up to 75km of autonomy for the latter. It will however be necessary to make a slight sacrifice in terms of price since this version is sold around 700 €. In addition, it allows very little storage, largely because of the removable battery that fits under the saddle. In terms of braking, these scooters are equipped with a disc at the front and a drum at the rear. With its 400W motor and 40Nm torque, however, it will not be able to exceed the 25km / h regulatory in China for this type of vehicle without a license.
Heading for Europe?
Unfortunately, at the moment, it seems that progress stops at the border since this beautiful baby at the ultra-competitive price is only marketed in China. We can therefore only hope that Xiaomi decides to launch Ninebot in the European arena very soon. Because with such competitive two-wheelers, we can easily imagine that this would represent a big change in the European landscape. And it is not only a question of reviving competition in a segment where prices remain very high, it is also a great opportunity to import part of the Chinese philosophy in terms of new urban mobility, and why not ‘inspire them to stop treating electric vehicles as a niche. Currently, the European model gives more emphasis to premium models worth several thousand euros, but that could well change once such inexpensive competitors hit the market, which could happen relatively quickly, as Ninebot bought the American brand Segway in 2015.
Promo
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Xiaomi – Scooter …
- 25 km / h with cruise control
- Range: 30 km
- protection against short circuit, over current, double protection against …
- Ultra-bright 1.1 W headlights with 6 m range + LED tail lights
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