You may not think of BMW as a maker of electric scooters but that may soon be changing as the German automobile maker has announced its new futuristic looking electric scooter model, the BMW CE 04.
The electric scooter has made an appearance before last year, as a concept but BMW has decided to turn it into an actual product. The actual product revealed is remarkably similar to the concept. The CE 04 features bold and bright orange color accents and lots of defined edges all over.
Using a peak-rated 31 kW electric motor, the electric scooter can speed up to 50 km/h in just 2.6 seconds. Top speed is 120 km/h. BMW is making a 23 kW motor option which will reach the same top speed as the more powerful option. You can reverse the scooter, a feature that is very useful for a scooter as heavy the CE 04, at 230 kg.
All that speed will be powered by an 8.9 kWh battery in the upper trim for a riding range of 130 km. The less powerful option will get a maximum range of 100 km. You will be able to charge the battery at home from a normal wall outlet or at a public charging station, just like any other electric vehicle.
With the included charger, the CE 04 takes up to four hours to charge but with an optional 6.9 kW charger, it will take about one hour and forty minutes for a full charge. But you can go from 20 to 80 percent in 45 minutes, for when you are in a hurry.
One more charging option is regenerative braking, but that only works when you ride about. The BMW scooter has high tech safety features such as Automatic Stability Control and Dynamic Traction Control.
More hi-tech features include an unusually large 10.25 inch TFT screen where you can monitor metrics and performance, follow map navigation. Even though you do not need your smartphone for navigation, you can still charge it in the charging compartment. You will be able to store things like helmet and charging cable in the storage compartment, a very handy feature.
To make your rides smooth, you have the option to select ECO mode, Rain mode or Road mode. There is a Dynamic mode, but it comes as a paid upgrade. If you are itching to buy one, BMW is making it available in 2022 first quarter, at a cost of US$11,795 in the US.