The city of Paris is filled not only with cars, but even more so
motorcycles, scooters and bicycles. So it wasn’t much surprise that
we’d see a few on display at the Paris Motor Show. What is interesting
is how some manufacturers are looking at bikes and scooters as an entry
point into an automotive brand.
Smart
revealed this exact strategy during their press conference and
following the reveal of the eScooter and eBike prototypes. Part of the
rationale behind introducing these two products is to offer more
affordable transportation alternatives to a car. Both in Europe and the
US, insurance for young drivers costs a lot. Smart is looking at the
eBike and eScooter as either steps up to car ownership or a more space
conscious solution to urban mobility.
Smart describes the eBike as a muscle powered – electric hybrid. As
a rider pedals, electricity is generated and stored in a lithium-ion
battery pack located just above the crankcase. Power is then
transferred to a 250 watt motor in the rear hub of the bicycle giving
the rider a boost on flat roads and making climbing hills easier. Smart
considers the eBike the first entry point into the brand because no
drivers license is need to operate it. The top speed generated by the
motor is limited to 15.5 mph keeping the bike from being classified as
a scooter. When braking, the rear hub actually recaptures electricity
and sends it back to the battery.
The eBike was designed to appear “uncluttered”. The safety cell
frame and body panels of the Smart fortwo car became the inspiration
for the design of the eBike frame. For nighttime riding, the eBike has
integrated front and rear LED safety lighting. The small headlight is
attached to the handlebars instead of the frame so when a rider turns,
their direction of travel is illuminated.
Smart designed both the eBike and eScooter to have smartphone
integration. For the eBike, the owners smartphone becomes the “starter”
and the immobiliser. The bike will only work when the owners phone is
inserted into the cradle on the handlebars and the motor ‘locks’ when
the phone is removed. The phone also serves as an interface for a
speedometer, and heart rate meter.
The Smart eScooter is the next step up from the eBike. The
zero-emission electric drive scooter is powered by a 4 kW disc shaped
motor in the rear wheel. Smart says the eScooter can attain a top speed
of 28 mph and has a range of 62 miles on a full charge. The eScooter
can be plugged into a standard household socket via a charging cord
located beneath the emblem on the front of the scooter. A full charge
takes three to five hours. Smart has integrated some interesting safety
features into the eScooter. It is equipped with electronic front and
rear ABS and the brakes are activated with a single twist of the hand
grip. Like the eBike, energy is recovered during braking and sent back
to the battery. The eScooter also gathers electricity from a section of
solar panels located on the front fascia. The scooter employs more
advanced smartphone integration and has features like a range and
battery charge display, navigation, and ‘parking GPS’ which sends a
homing beacon to the owners smartphone so they remember where the
scooter is parked.
Mini
debuted the Scooter E Concept in two variations at the Paris Motor
Show. In contrast to the model from Smart, the Scooter E’s showed the
potential for how a scooter could be customized to more reflect the
needs and personality of the owner. The drive system of the Mini is
similar to the Smart, standard plug-in charging, lithium-ion batteries,
and an electric motor in the rear hub.
The Scooter E integrates a lot of Mini design ques. The headlight is
very similar to the MINI Countryman’s. And the tail lights resemble
scaled down versions from the Mini Cooper.
Even interior design elements from Mini road cars have found their
way into the design of the scooter. The handlebar gauge is similar to
the large center mounted speedometer of the road cars. Another carry
over is the ‘center rail’ on which accessories like small storage cases
and bags can be attached.
The Scooter E is activated via a smartphone which also serves as a
display for scooter controls and navigation. The plastic panel in the
center of the speedometer shown above opens and a phone can be inserted
horizontally.
With a change in body color and materials, Mini demonstrated how the Scooter E can have a unique and distinctive appearance.
We also saw a lot of bikes displayed around the show. Here’s a
rundown on all the ones we spotted. Above is a road bike and hybrid
electric city bike from Peugot.
Opel mountain bike.
Individual Bike spotted in the Ford Stand.
Lacoste Bike.
Vintage Lotus time trial bike.
Skoda, who provides support vehicles for the Tour de France had two
station where visitors could compete head to head on a virtual stage of
the TDF. The bikes were hooked up to resistance and steering tracking
controllers which interacted and controlled the rider on the screen.
