A key factor in the redesign was making the scooter electrically powered. The motor is placed inside the rear wheel, says Ryan James, Lit Motors’ chief marketing officer.窗前一片小小的屋檐

"That frees up the vehicle architecture to make it whatever we want it to be, and it also greatly simplifies the drivetrain making it cheaper to produce, cheaper to sell, and cheaper to the consumer,” he says.ゆんうぃ

Rechargeable batteries run along the base of the scooter, keeping the centre of gravity low, which is key to a stable, and therefore safer, ride. The batteries hold enough charge for around 50 miles, or 80km, and top speed will be around 50mph (80kph).暗伤

The other standout part of the design is two handlebars, which seem to sprout out of the top of the bike.

"We have a unique, tank-style steering,” James explains. There is one handlebar on either side, which instead of twisting around a central pivot, are pushed or pulled in tandem to move the front wheel. "Like any other two wheeled vehicle, when you’re moving you’re actually turning the front wheel very little. The turn is all in the lean.”

For the cargo scooter to have an impact, it will have to be cheap enough for people to afford it. So is it possible to get the price of an innovative electric bike that low?

"We think we can,” says James. "We went over to India a couple of years ago and conducted market research, met with three of the largest scooter and motorcycle manufacturers, and we were able to determine how much we could produce this for. We should be able to get this comparable with similar price-point scooters.” In reality that means a target price of around $5,000.

Early production will be determined by demand, according to the company. It says it is prepared to produce anywhere from 10 to a few hundred at its facility in San Francisco at first, and then increase the numbers. Longer term, the company may license the design to manufacturers around the world.woerma

The cargo scooter is still very much in development stage, and I was shown an early prototype (see video). The company already has ambitious plans though. Their next goal is to make the scooter fold in half, so you end up with the two wheels much closer together, and the bike’s footprint halved.

"That will be really big in places like China, where the norm is not to leave your scooter locked down in the street, but to bring it up into your apartment with you,” says James.今生我最累

Lit plans to release the machine later on this year – using a Kickstarter campaign, of course.

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