After previously announcing their new line of
folding electric bikes last November, General Motors has this week unveiled the
range that will be launching first throughout the Netherlands, Belgium and
Germany. GM announced that ARĪV is the name of its new eBike brand which was
selected as part of a global crowdsourcing campaign back in November 2018.
The range consists of a pair of compact electric
bikes capable of a top speed of 15 mph or 25 km/h. On a full charge the bikes
can provide a 40 mile or 64 km range and offer four levels of paddle assisted
power. Riders can charge their ARĪV eBike’s battery from flat in approximately
3.5 hours
Named the ARĪV Meld and ARĪV Merge, General Motors
will be launching the new folding electric bikes throughout the Netherlands and
Belgium is € 2,800 or US$ 3,160 and € 3,400 or US$ 3,840, respectively. While in
Germany the electric bikes will be priced at a slightly more affordable Meld
priced at € 2,750 or US$ 3,100 and the Merge at € 3,350 or US$ 3,780.
As you can see from the images the bike is capable
of falling into a small form factor and GM says the bikes lean very much on
expertise gained through its electric car efforts. The ARĪV Merge and Meld come
standard with safety components such as integrated, rechargeable front and rear
LED safety lights, oversized brake rotors to increase stopping power and
connect to the ARĪV eBike app via Bluetooth.
