Since last year, startups like Bird, Spin, and LimeBike have been deploying electric scooters with internet connectivity on San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washington DC streets. The bird was spotted using Mi scooters, and Spin confirmed its collaboration with Xiaomi on the production and customization of the former’s scooter fleet.
Xiaomi is well known for smartphones and wearables, although it produces other electric appliances and even sofas (!), under its brand Mi. A Bird scooter in San Francisco was noticed bearing the Mi Electric Scooter tag, albeit the startup refused to confirm.
It was revealed that the scooter was made in Changzhou, China, by Xiaomi’s subsidiary Ninebot, which as well owns Segway. The product sticker reads a maximum speed of 15.5 miles an hour and a maximum capacity of 220 pounds. Bird, via its online safety page, says that the speed is 15 miles per hour. Its rental agreement states that riders require the weight not to exceed 200 pounds. An average American man weighs about 196 pounds.
A Mi scooter in China costs 1,999 Yuan or $320; in the U.S. via Amazon, the price is about $500. It weighs just about 27 pounds and can be connected wirelessly to apps via Bluetooth. It has a travel range of around 18 miles, that too ‘under specific conditions.’ Amazon’s product description states that the conditions entail mild weather, a load of about 165 pounds, and a ‘flat road without strong winds.’
As far as Spin is concerned, they said that their scooters are certified by UL, the U.S. testing company setting safety standards for many consumer products.
LimeBike said that its scooters boar the Lime-S design and are built by third-party overseas. The design is common and can be found on Amazon under various manufacturers like Logisys, Haitral, Party, etc. The scooters are sold for between $200 and $400. Despite no confirmation of UL certification surfacing yet, LimeBike has deployed more than 35,000 bikes and scooters across the U.S. since June 2017.
Stick with us to get further fascinating updates on the evolving global market of electric scooters.
