Zapp Scooters poised to enter crowded electric motorbike segment

Niu Technologies

04/08/2021 12:00

By Paul Lienert
    Aug 4 (Reuters) - British-based Zapp Scooters plans to begin
selling its new i300 electric two-wheeler this fall in Europe
and early next year in the United States, the company said on
Wednesday, as the electric motorbike segment grows increasingly
crowded. 
    Founded by Thai entrepreneur Swin Chatsuwan, a former
investment banker now based in the UK, four-year-old Zapp is
going to market with a build-to-order business model, according
Tony Posawatz, a Zapp investor and adviser who was formerly with
General Motors Co  GM.N .
    The launch edition of the Thai-built i300 will be priced at
$8,995, with a standard model to follow at $7,495.
    A key competitor, the Italian-built, battery-powered Vespa
Elettrica, starts at $7,449. Vespa is owned by Piaggio & C SpA  
 PIA.MI .
    "This is not your father’s Vespa," said Posawatz, who once
headed GM’s Chevrolet Volt hybrid electric car program and has
advised startup companies from Lucid Group Inc  LCID.O  to
Inrix.
    In stark contrast to the familiar, decades-old Vespa, which
was made popular by "Roman Holiday," the 1953 movie starring
Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, the Zapp i300 sports a
post-modern design and such features as a swappable lithium-ion
battery pack.
    The newcomer faces stiff competition from more than two
dozen companies, many of them based in China and India, the
world’s two largest markets for two-wheelers. Among the more
notable rivals: Taiwan-based Gogoro and China’s Niu Technologies
 NIU.O .
    Zapp hopes its retail model - order your vehicle online,
specify its features, and have it delivered to your door - will
help it cut through the competitive thicket.
    The company also is planning to use authorized resellers in
some markets and may sell directly to corporate customers.

 (Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit
Editing by Matthew Lewis)
 ((Paul.Lienert@thomsonreuters.com
+1 313-670-2452;))