Electric Scooters – Now With Baskets, From Suzuki

Suzuki announced their new electric scooter this week. It’s called the e-Let’s, it’s under-50-cc-equivalent, and it goes on sale on January 9th.

Scooters in general are pretty neat – they’re fuel efficient, small, and it’s hard not to look cute riding one. Add in an electric motor to reduce noise, vibration, and greenhouse gas emissions, and you’ve got something that makes a whole lot of sense (above 60 degrees ambient temperature, that is).

Specs and Technicalities

The Suzuki scooter is no exception to the rule; it uses Suzuki’s previous Let’s 4 Basket body as its base, equipping it with lithium ion batteries and hub motors. The lack of a combustion engine makes the ride nice and smooth, and the vehicle’s low overall weight lets it maintain acceleration and maneuverability. Without the dedicated charger, the e-Let’s actually weighs nearly 5 lbs. less than the gas-powered Let’s 4!

The lithium ion batteries take about 4 hours to charge (from a 100V plug), and a full charge takes the rider around 18.5 miles (as tested by Suzuki, under test conditions traveling at an average 18mph). The batteries also include a management unit to monitor battery condition and charge level. They can even be removed from the scooter to charge.

Extra Space and Other Details

The e-Let’s has two storage areas – the front basket and under the seat. The storage space under the seat is designed to hold the dedicated charger and a spare (charged) battery, both of which can considerably expand the range. The basket holds anything you can cram into it and has a lid to keep it secure.

The standard scooter package includes one battery and the dedicated charger, and is about $4,000 USD. The extra-battery variety is called the “e-Let’s W” (why the W, I have no idea), and will go on sale at the same time as the standard e-Let’s.

No word on North American or European availability, but Suzuki has stated their sales goal as 1000 vehicles. Let us know what you think of it, in the comments below the gallery.

Source: Gas2.0