This is it, folks. NIU is finally beginning US retail sales of its highly acclaimed seated electric scooters.
NIU to begin retail sales in US
Electrek has spoken with a high-ranking representative within NIU who has verified NIU’s US retail plans.
The company will officially launch sales and test drives at 12 US retail locations on December 1. Dozens more locations are expected to open soon.
The information was just confirmed by NIU’s CEO Yan Li in the Q3 earnings call minutes ago.
The move marks NIU’s first entry into the US retail market, though its scooters have already been cruising US streets for months as part of the Revel electric scooter-sharing program in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Austin.
Three models of NIU’s scooters will be available in the US at launch, including the 43.5 mph (70 km/h) NIU NGT, as well as the 30 mph (48 km/h) NIU NSport and NIU M+Sport. Complete pricing info isn’t available yet, though the Nsport model is likely to retail for US$2,899.
The NGT model is equipped with a 3 kW Bosch hub motor and two 2.1 kWh removable batteries. The Panasonic-based batteries are capable of providing over 60 miles (100 km) of range. When placed in E-Save mode (the NGT’s equivalent of ECO mode), the scooter has a maximum estimated range of over 105 miles (170 km).
The NIU M+Sport has a 1.4 kW Bosch hub motor and a single battery with a smaller 2 kWh capacity. The scooter has an estimated range of 50 miles (80 km) at 28 mph (45 km/h) and 60 miles (100 km) at 15 mph (25 km/h).
The 13 dealers taking part in the launch of NIU’s US retail sales are:
- San Diego: Vespa Motorsport
- Portland, OR: Vespa Portland
- Seattle: Seattle Cycle Center
- Denver: Sportique Scooter
- Overland Park, KS: Scooter World
- Chicago: Scooterworks Chicago
- Atlanta: Twist ‘n’ Scoot
- College Park, MD: College Scooters
- Philadelphia: Philadelphia Scooters
- Brooklyn, NY: Brooklyn Mayd
- Vernon, CT: Connecticut Scooter Pros
- Exeter, NH: EZ Bikes and Scooters
[Author’s note: More dealers are now popping up:
- Charleston, South Carolina: Scooter Stop]
And to our Canadian readers, NIU hasn’t left you out — at least not if you live near Montreal. There you’ll be able to find NIU’s first Canadian dealer, Dyad.
Not all dealers will have all three of NIU’s US models available, so you should contact your local dealer to see which models they will initially carry.
A separate NIU representative that I spoke to at EICMA 2019 indicated that NIU hopes to have 50 retail locations across the US by the end of 2020, including multiple NIU-only dealerships.
EICMA 2019 also saw the unveiling of upgraded versions of each of these scooters. The new models are the NIU NQi GTs, NIU MQi GTs, and NIU UQi GT, plus the NIU EB-01 electric bicycle. The EB-01 takes advantage of a number of NIU’s electric scooter developments, such as the company’s lighting, batteries, and detailed display. These components are integrated with a pedal drivetrain to create a 28 mph (45 km/h) electric bicycle that offers the comfort and ride experience of a seated scooter.
These new models won’t be immediately available in the US, though we expect to see them stateside sometime early next year.
Electrek’s Take
Finally! I put down a reservation over a year ago for the NIU NGT, and this day couldn’t have come sooner!
NIU has a great reputation around the world — everyone seems to love their scooters.
The company’s first entry into the US via the shared scooter program Revel has seen great success — at least in terms of riders’ attitudes and opinions toward the scooters. I have no idea if Revel has figured out how to make the sharing program profitable yet, but the vehicles themselves have absolutely been a hit.
Now it’s time to see how they sell. Are Americans ready to embrace seated electric scooters en masse? I’m as excited as everyone to find out! One thing is for sure, though: You’ll be seeing this journalist scooting around on a NIU scooter pretty soon!
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