A first look at Mercedes-Benz’ most affordable EV — its escooter

This article was originally published by Steve Schaefer on Clean Fleet Report, a publication that gives its readers the information they need to move to cars and trucks with best fuel economy, including electric cars, fuel cells, plug-in hybrids, hybrids and advanced diesel and gasoline engines.

Mercedes-Benz has introduced a new electric vehicle that should be affordable for almost everyone. The eScooter rides on two wheels, carries one person and, with a 500-watt (half a kW) motor and a 280-watt-hour battery, should be good for around 15 miles of range. It charges up in a few hours, so topping off the battery overnight at home or during the day at the office should be a snap.

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The e-scooter market is filled with choices–see the Electric Scooter Guide for the vast array. But sporting one from the fashionable German luxury car brand would certainly let you stand out on urban streets—if anyone noticed the M-B emblem on the upright. In all-black, the escooter has a stealth quality about it and, while handsome, doesn’t break any new ground in design, although it folds and unfolds very elegantly with a few quick gestures.

Mercedes-Benz developed the escooter with Metro Mobility Systems AG, a Swiss manufacturer of small electrical transportation modules. Metro Mobility Systems also offers the extremely cute two-passenger Microlino, which is exactly what an Isetta would be if it were designed today.

Scooter specs

The escooter is limited to about 12 miles per hour, so it won’t pack many thrills, but with a weight under 30 pounds, it should be ideal for last mile commuting and neighborhood errands, like any good scooter. Mercedes-Benz says it will offer Bluetooth and a charger for your trunk, so you can juice it up while it’s stashed there.

Riders communicate with the escooter via the associated Micro app. Snap your mobile phone into the bracket on the bike and you can view a “mini dashboard” of information on speed, distance, travel time and amount of remaining battery charge. You can also adjust certain scooter features, such as driving mode, from the app.

Scooters can take a beating, but this one appears to be strong and sturdy, and the company claims it should last for 3,000 miles of scooting.

The escooter will debut in Germany, so if you’re reading this in the United States, sorry–you’ll have to wait (perhaps forever). Pricing and availability in Germany—or elsewhere—hasn’t been announced yet, but high-quality e-scooters can run in the thousands of dollars, so I’d expect the escooter to retail with a four-figure price tag.

Check out their YouTube video for a peek at the escooter, preceded by some contextual marketing content about Mercedes-Benz’s overall vehicle electrification efforts. If and when a Mercedes-Benz escooter makes it to the United States, I’ll eagerly test it and fill you in.

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