Space is becoming increasingly scarce in the major conurbation centres and traffic density is growing continuously. Political and social conditions are changing. All these factors coalesce in increasing demands in terms of private transportation. The concept vehicle BMW E-Scooter with electric drive provides an innovative look at changing urban mobility needs.
While the currently available, purely electrically-powered scooters have been almost exclusively used inside towns and cities to date due to their performance and range, which makes them suitable for short distances only, the concept vehicle BMW E-Scooter offers a much broader spectrum of use.
The E-Scooter concept vehicle's battery is charged at regular household power sockets as found in Europe, the USA, Canada and Japan, so no special charging station is required. When the battery is completely flat, the charging period is less than three hours. However, practical experience has shown that the battery rarely runs out completely, so charging times are generally shorter.
Unlike existing maxi scooters with combustion engines, the concept vehicle does not have a main frame. Instead, the aluminium battery casing - which also contains the electronic system required for battery cell monitoring -takes over the function of the frame. The steering head support is connected to it, as is the rear frame and the left-hand mounted single swing arm with directly hinged, horizontally installed shock absorber.
BMW Motorrad is one of the very few motorcycle manufacturers to be able to draw on its own experience and expertise in the automobile field in the development of electrically powered vehicles. Synergies are derived from the development of the BMW E-Scooter concept vehicle not just in the ready availability of technical components but also in the area of high voltage engineering and the associated safety requirements. Here for the first time, standards established by the leading automobile manufacturers relating to high voltage safety (> 60 volt) and functional reliability are being applied to a two-wheel vehicle with electric drive.