Unu reveals its second generation electric scooter
The Berlin-based company Unu, founded in 2013, has revealed its second-generation electric scooter developed in cooperation with partners including Bosch and LG. The completely new e-scooter can be ordered online in three performance variants and seven colours.
The Bosch engine integrated in the rear wheel of the new model delivers 2, 3 or 4 kW, depending on the power variant. The portable battery guarantees a generous range for a scooter of up to 100 kilometres.
According to the manufacturer, the new electric scooter should also offer the largest storage space and one of the fastest acceleration capacities in the electric scooter segment. But what really distinguishes this model from its current predecessor are its connectivity features. Already in the course of the most recent successfully completed financing round six months ago, the Berlin company announced that they wanted to focus more on the mobility service market in the future. This has meant creating electric scooters that are suitable for sharing offers with networking capabilities. The company explicitly stated that it would not only focus on the classic sharing market, but also on peer-to-peer sharing (P2P), in which private electric scooter owners lend their vehicles to other private individuals.
Now Unu is following through on that aim with its new e-scooter model. The scooter can be started via an app with a digital key that can be shared digitally with friends, family and in the neighbourhood via the app: “This paves the way for micro-sharing for the first time. This way we’re introducing a new scooter usage model for urban mobility,” says Unu co-founder Elias Atahi.
According to Unu, the electric scooter is also capable of learning: Over time, the number of connectivity features will be automatically extended free of charge via the cloud. A new anti-theft protection and navigation system is standard onboard equipment right from the start. Unu speaks of a “consistent fusion of hardware and software”. The company has been working for many months on the goal of making the leap from a pure hardware manufacturer to a specialist for hardware and software. According to the Berlin-based company, the three central trends that will change urban mobility in the future – electric, networked and autonomous vehicles – make up the company’s leitmotif.
For now, the pre-order option is only in Germany, the Netherlands, France, and Austria where the electric scooters are starting at 2,799 euros, or 69 euros a month with leasing. Customers who make early reservations are offered a free package worth around 330 euros. The package includes a purchase discount, a helmet and an additional third year warranty. Regular sales start in August. As was previously also the case, Unu will focus on direct online trading. According to the manufacturer, the models ordered in this pre-booking phase will be “delivered to the front door in a box ready to drive from September”.
Unu is currently the market leader in electrically powered scooters sold in Germany, with over 10.000 scooters on German streets. The new scooter will replace the existing Unu electric scooter, which means that the old version will only be available for a few weeks. Co-founder Mathieu Caudal looks back on the old version, “With the Unu Scooter Classic, we have successfully made electric mobility accessible to the masses.” The second generation is now opening up to mobility services. In the long term, the company is also working on the “final product vision” of an electric, networked, autonomous vehicle. This year, Unu intends to enter the international sharing market with the new product.
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