Niu expands its line of electric scooters for 2019 and pre-sells on the internet

No doubt Niu, the Chinese brand of electric scooters, shows its ambitions and makes its first European “Summit” in Paris, in a Steve Jobb-style show to introduce journalists and the best European dealers to its two new models. Well, these are in fact only evolutions, but this show at the Carrousel du Louvre was mainly made to show the success and the future potential of this brand born only 3 years ago. And who already claims 400,000 users worldwide!

 

In fact, the company was created in September 2014 to meet mobility needs in Chinese cities such as Beijing, where traffic jams are raging with an average speed of 15 km/h for car travel, or even 6 people per m2 packed into the streets. public transport, but also an incredible density of bicycles that require a bit of muscle. Three modes of transport that no longer fully meet mobility concerns in the comfort and ease that motorized two-wheelers can provide. With the PTW, the CEO of Niu thus announces 77 hours per year of saved travel time to go to work in Beijing, or even 69 hours in Paris. It is true that the average journey is 12 km per day and the motorized two-wheeler seems the most suitable.

In addition, electric is for them the only solution that respects both quality of life and ecology. It should also be noted that non-electric two-wheelers are prohibited in Beijing and in major Chinese cities. This also facilitates the development of brands and if tomorrow Paris, or simply its center, were forbidden to combustion engines, the French market would suddenly explode. Because for the moment, apart from the BMW C-Evo and self-service scooters (Cityscoot and Coup), the market is insignificant.

In 3 years, Niu would have become the world’s No. 1 electric scooter

So to come back to our Niu, the first model was released in June 2015 with the N, then the MQi in 2016 and the UQi, the smallest, in April 2017. Models that have each time been hailed by Design Awards worldwide. Surprising however because this NQi strongly reminds me of a certain Yamaha X-box of fifteen years ago, but everyone must have forgotten…

Niu therefore claims the place of world n°1 loud and clear, with its 400,000 customers all over the world who have traveled more than 1 billion km, thus validating the technology of the machines built in collaboration with Bosch for the engines and Panasonic for The batteries. And yes Niu has joined forces with industry giants for its mobility project!

The electric two-wheeler makes it possible to be efficient, comfortable, practical and safe, ecological and cool, because the style is also important to be proud to ride on a Niu, which also prides itself on redefining urban mobility in order to improve the everyday life. A beautiful speech that left us a little unsatisfied when unveiling the “big news”, which are in fact only more powerful versions of the already existing NQi and MQi models.

 

NQi GT and MQi+ for 2019

The Niu N GT model

Compared to the NQi, the NQi GT goes faster, longer and smarter with its new dashboard and connectivity. On the engine side, the Bosch block goes to 3000 Watts (5.5 kW peak and 180 Nm of torque) instead of 2400. It is oddly limited to 70 km/h which does not even allow you to go serenely on the Paris ring road and even less on a fast track limited to 90 km / h for example. It now has two 60 Volt / 35 Ah batteries, one housed under the floor and the other in the trunk under the saddle (but no more space for the helmet!). On the other hand, these batteries remain removable and can therefore be charged at home in 3 hours 30 minutes. They are given for 100 km of autonomy in the city and up to 160 km when driving at 45 km/h. Being a 125 cm3 equivalent, it receives CBS braking coupling its two brake discs. To drive it, you need either a car license (+ 7-hour training) or an A1 license.

It also has cruise control, 3 power modes, a USB socket and self-retracting turn signals. The price of this NQi GT model will be €4499 with availability in January 2019 in France.

The Niu MQi+ model

It is also an evolution, of the MQi model this time, more powerful, but it remains in equivalent 50 cm3 with greater autonomy, announced at more than 100 km at 45 km / h. It receives a new LCD screen, more complete and readable, a larger capacity Lithium battery (42 Ah instead of 32) and a more powerful motor (1200 W instead of 800). The price is €2599 with also availability in January 2019.

Self-service rental and pre-sale…
Niu also announced a partnership with Indigo, which already has a self-service bicycle fleet and which will offer Niu bikes in parallel in the cities it already equips, such as Toulouse.

The other action is at the level of the pre-sale which will take place from June 26 to July 26 with a reservation of 100 € for a delivery in January 2019, with in addition promotional prices:

– €300 for the MQi+, i.e. €2,299 and – €500 for the NQi GT, i.e. €3,999.

The remaining balance will be payable directly to the point of sale that will deliver the scooter to you, and that you have chosen on the card.

As a reminder, current models are priced at

NQi = 2899 €

MQi = 2299 €

UQi = 1699 €