Last month, we shared reports that Lit Motors, a small startup best known for developing self-balancing two-wheel vehicles, became an acquisition target for several major companies, including BMW. In an interesting development, BMW unveiled today its own self-balancing electric motorcycle concept.
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Lit Motors has been having difficulties finding the funds to bring its self-balancing electric motorcycle, the C-1, to market. CEO Daniel Kim said earlier this year that the company would need about $20 million to bring the vehicle to market and to satisfy the over 1,000 people who reserved what the company calls an ‘auto-balancing electric vehicle’ (AEV).
Now reports are coming out today claiming that the company recently became an acquisition target for important companies, including Apple, BMW, Audi, and a South Korean automaker.
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For years now, Lit Motors has been developing its all-electric self-balancing two-wheel vehicles, often referred to as Auto-Balancing Electric Vehicle (AEV). It is described as an extremely efficient commuter vehicle thanks to its light weight, low mechanical drag with only 2 wheels touching the road and low aerodynamic drag because of its enclosed motorcycle shape.
The company announced having received over 1,000 reservations for the vehicle, but yet it can’t find its way to production. After several delays and despite backers like Mark Pincus, founder and CEO at Zynga, and Larry Page, founder of Google and CEO of Alphabet, the company is reportedly still looking for funding in order to bring the vehicle to production.
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In his latest letter to reservation holders, Lit Motors CEO Daniel Kim confirmed that the startup has been granted 9 unique patent applications in the U.S. for its auto-balancing electric vehicle (AEV) technology.
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In his latest letter to the Lit Motors community, CEO Daniel Kim, who recently suffered from a severe motorcycle accident and is now recovering from a hip replacement, says the company is making progress on its electric self-balancing motorcycle, but they are still not ready to offer a timeline to production.
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Lit Motors is using the placeholder name ”C-1” for their electric vehicle that can be best described as a self-balancing motorcycle-car hybrid. It is a two-wheeled fully enclosed vehicle with car-like safety features such as airbags and seat belts, but what truly makes it a motorcycle-car hybrid is its self-balancing technology.
This feature powered by Lit Motors’ own patented gyroscopic stability system is aimed at making the C-1 legally drivable with a regular driving license.
Lit Motors’ self-balancing fully electric motorcycle-car hybrid
