Volkswagen wants to launch a shared micromobility service with its scooter and electric scooter, presented last year at the Geneva Motor Show. Volkswagen will join forces with the Chinese company Niu to manufacture its first Volkswagen electric scooter, according to the German newspaper Die Welt. The scooter, presented as the Streemate concept at the Geneva Motor Show 2018, reaches a maximum speed of 45 km/h and has a range of 60 kilometers.
It is likely that Volkswagen also takes advantage of the alliance with the Chinese firm to produce its scooter Cityskater that, with two front wheels and one rear, achieves a maximum speed of 20 km/h and offers a range of 15 km on a single charge.
According to the German newspaper Handelsblatt, Volkswagen plans to launch a shared micromobility service and has even commissioned a supplier to place the logo of its “We Share” sharing platform on some Volkswagen electric scooter for a test run.
Initially, it was commented that the skateboard manufacturer Segway, a subsidiary of the Chinese company Ninebo, would be in charge of manufacturing the electric vehicles for Volkswagen. However, the firm chosen for this mission has been Niu, which owns 40% of its market in China.
The Germans have also taken the micromovility to the commercial sector, with its electric cargo tricycle Cargo e-Bike presented at the IAA Commercial Vehicles Salon of 2019. The attractive vehicle, which will start selling this year, has an electric motor 250 watts that generate a maximum speed of 25 km/h and a battery of 500 Wh with a range of 100 km. Between the front wheels has a loading platform that remains stable in the curves and that can support a weight of 210 kg.
Although electric scooters are banned in Germany, that could change on May 17 when the Federal Council votes on the “Ordinance for Small Electric Vehicles” approved by the government in early April. If the vote is positive, this type of Volkswagen electric scooter will be allowed on the German roads.
Volkswagen is not the only German automaker that is committed to shared micromobility. BMW and Daimler also plan to establish a sharing system called Hive, after the merger of their mobility services through the MyTaxi brand, a subsidiary of Daimler. As part of a pilot project, the service began testing in Hamburg and Munich in April.