Honda is getting into the e-scooter market through a new subsidiary called Striemo. The startup plans to sell an electric three-wheel scooter that’s stable at walking speeds or speeds comparable to that of a bicycle. Both the company and its first product are called Striemo and the scooter is a little more complex than the two-wheel models it aims to displace, according to Yotari Mori, the CEO of the newly formed company.
Weighing in at 20 kg, it can go
up to 30 km on a charge. Its real party piece, though, is the
stabilization technology. Striemo claims that it’s very hard to fall off of the
scooter because of its ability to calculate the balance of its center of
gravity to within 0.0039-inches (0.1 mm). That allows the three-wheeled
micromobility vehicle to be stable under the rider no matter how quickly or
slowly they’re moving.
It also makes the turning mechanism
easier. To turn, riders are required to lean into the corner, not unlike a
skier might do on a hill. That allows it to not only be stable at high speeds
but to turn very sharply at low speeds, too.
The Striemo will be offered to customers
at 260,000 yen (US$ 1,939), reports Nikkei Asia, and
the company is taking pre-orders for a limited 300-unit run. It plans to put
the scooter on sale in Japan this year and to introduce it in Europe in 2023.
Honda is just the latest automaker to propose a “micromobillity solution”,
joining the ranks of BMW and Polestar.
