electric scooter

For years now, riders have been asking the same question: When is Honda finally going to give us a true-to-form electric Super Cub?

The gasoline-powered Honda Super Cub isn’t simply another small bike in the long history of mopeds and light motorcycles. It’s the best-selling motor vehicle in history, with more than 100 million units produced since its 1958 debut. The Cub helped motorize post-war Japan, democratized two-wheeled transport across Southeast Asia, and even carved out a cult following in the US with its step-through frame and famously approachable design. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the Super Cub is one of the most important vehicles ever built.

If you’ve ever stood at a red light in Taipei, you know that when it turns green, it’s not just cars that surge forward – it’s a tidal wave of scooters. In Taiwan, scooters are a way of life, outnumbering cars by roughly two to one. That also means they represent one of the country’s biggest transportation-related pollution sources.

So Taiwan decided to do something about it: pay people to switch.

There’s a surprisingly strong debate long-swirling around the term “moped.” For a word that started as a simple mashup of “motor” and “pedal,” moped has caused an outsized amount of contention. Now, with the prevalence of a new age of light electric two-wheelers, that debate has only grown.

What began as a literal description of a pedal-equipped motorbike has, over the decades, evolved into something broader – from legal definitions to common usage. That evolution hasn’t sat well with everyone. So let’s talk about what a moped was, what it became, and why insisting that language remain stuck in time might be missing the bigger picture.

Swiss e-scooter maker VMAX came out of CES 2026 swinging, unveiling three new electric scooters that span the spectrum from ultra-light commuter to full-on high-performance “why does this go 50 mph?” territory. And unlike some CES announcements that feel more like vaporware than vehicles, these new models are built for real riders with very different needs.

I’ve ridden a lot of electric scooters over the years, and many of them blur together. Plenty are fast. Many are powerful. Some look aggressive. But only a handful manage to combine all of that with a ride that actually feels polished and confidence-inspiring. After spending real time riding the Apollo Phantom 2.0 (52V version), it’s clear this scooter sits firmly in that top tier.

I’ve ridden a lot of electric scooters over the years. Most blur together – two wheels, a deck, a motor, and a series of compromises. But every now and then, one stands out. And after a couple of weeks riding the Bo M2 electric scooter, I can confidently say: this one’s different.

The Bo M2 is not your average e-scooter. It’s a purpose-built, premium commuter with some seriously refined features – and a price tag to match. At $2,490, it’s firmly in high-end territory. But for riders who want a serious transportation tool, not a toy, there’s a lot to like here.

Scooters have never really had their moment in the US the way they have in Europe or much of Asia (despite the few fun-loving Vespas clubs here and there). A mere ocean away in Europe, a scooter is just basic transportation – a smart, efficient, dead-simple way to navigate a city. But in the US, scooters tend to get ignored by car folks and lumped into the “not really a motorcycle” category by bike folks.

But LiveWire’s upcoming new electric maxi-scooter concept might actually have a shot at shifting that narrative.

Yamaha is doubling down on urban electrification in Japan with the launch of its new Jog E electric scooter – and in a twist that we’ve been waiting years to see, it runs on Honda’s Mobile Power Pack e: swappable batteries.

Future Motion – the company that basically invented the “self-balancing asphalt surfboard” category with the Onewheel – has officially entered the two-wheeled world. And in typical Future Motion fashion, they didn’t just build a bike. They built a weirdly wild, 1970s-inspired electric mini bike that can literally hold you in a wheelie.

Electric motorcycles come in all shapes and sizes these days, but few take the idea of “small format” as literally as the new Icoma Tatamel Bike. Designed by Takamitsu Ikoma – a former toy designer who clearly never lost his taste for Transformers – this little EV doesn’t just shrink.

It folds itself into a tidy rolling suitcase shape that can follow you into elevators, offices, and apartments, where full-sized bikes are a non-starter.

If there’s one thing Yadea doesn’t do, it’s show up quietly. At this year’s EICMA 2025 show in Milan, the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer brought its usual overwhelming display of two- and three-wheeled electric machines, plus a few surprises. From high-performance motorcycles and sleek urban scooters to battery tech and even self-folding micromobility oddities, the company’s booth had a bit of everything – and a lot of it.

Let’s start with the main event.

While NIU showed off a full lineup of production-ready electric scooters and motorcycles at EICMA this year, one of the most eye-catching was something you can’t buy just yet – but will definitely want to. It’s called the Concept 06, and it’s NIU’s boldest vision yet for the future of electric two-wheelers.

When it comes to high-performance electric scooters that are still reasonably priced, it’s a tricky balance. Most affordable scooters are underpowered and wobbly. The powerful ones often creep into motorcycle territory – with prices to match. But the VMAX VX2 Hub might just be the sweet spot we’ve been waiting for. It’s fast, it’s strong, it’s well-built, and most importantly – it actually feels good to ride.

Let’s dive into what makes this scooter stand out.

Zero Motorcycles turned heads in Milan at EICMA 2025 with the unveiling of its new LS1 electric scooter, a sleek and practical 60 mph (100 km/h) commuter built for European city streets. With its swappable batteries, off-board charging, and smart safety tech like ABS and traction control, the LS1 is clearly a strong contender in the urban EV space. It also marks a major shift for Zero, expanding beyond full-size electric motorcycles into a more accessible, everyday format.

But will it come to the US market?

Earlier this year, we covered the unveiling of the NIUMM, an electric microcar designed for urban residents (and especially those with a NIU scooter already, since it shares the same batteries). Now the company is actually bringing it to market.

Zero Motorcycles, long known for its powerful electric motorcycles, is diving deeper into the world of urban mobility with the launch of the all-new LS1 electric scooter. Unveiled today at EICMA 2025 in Milan, the LS1 is designed to expand Zero’s reach beyond motorcycles and into the increasingly important city commuter segment.

When it comes to electric bikes, the JackRabbit OG2 Pro barely qualifies as one – and that’s kind of the point. With no pedals, a seat barely higher than your hip, and a wheelbase shorter than some skateboards, this is less a traditional e-bike and more a bite-sized personal transporter that feels like a cross between a folding bike and an electric scooter.

But after riding it around for the past few months, I can confidently say: it’s an absolute blast. It’s more powerful than it looks, it’s easier to transport than you’d expect, and it’s simply more fun than you can imagine. It’s the small-format whip that I wish had existed years ago.

If you thought that 60 mph (100 km/h) electric scooter was a good idea, you might want to think again. It’s getting easier than ever for police to catch illegally fast micromobility devices with simple roadside tests.

A recent tragic incident in Portland, Oregon, one of countless similar occurrences, is putting a spotlight on a less-discussed but very real threat to micromobility riders: the condition of our roads.

The Sindh government in Pakistan has just launched a bold new initiative aimed at transforming mobility for women: a fleet of free pink electric scooters for female students and working women. Called the Free Pink EV Scooty Scheme, the program is designed to offer women across the province a safer, more dignified, and cost-effective way to get to school or work without relying on crowded, often unsafe public transportation.

What seemed like a too-good-to-be-true opportunity in micromobility has turned into a cautionary tale. The Lightning Shared Scooter Company (LSSC) lured investors with promises of leasing scooters in Asia, offering hefty daily returns to Western investors – often average folks instead of seasoned investors. But now regulators and watchdogs warn it was all a well‑orchestrated scam, leaving victims robbed of millions.