CarNewsCafe recently conducted an interview with Terry Duncan, Head of Consumer Engagement and Product Design at GenZe, to find out where the company is with the GenZe electric scooter since we saw it a year ago at the AltCar Expo in Santa Monica, California.
GenZe the smart urban mobility electric scooter
The GenZe electric scooter is moving along since we saw the first working prototype last year and is well under way with more than 50% of the final parts heading for production. GenZe is aiming for a November final production date, which means we should see the electric GenZe scooter in time for the holidays. GeneZe doesn’t call it an electric scooter, but an electric “two-wheeler”. The reason behind is that the GenZe is more than a traditional electric scooter. There are three seating positions, ranging from fully seating, to leaning against the seat, to outright standing up. This makes a lot of sense if you are carrying a lot, such as groceries.
The GenZe electric scooter lets you take charge of the battery
One of the greatest features of the GenZe electric scooter is its removable battery system that allows you to take them wherever you go for an easy charge. Think about it. You are running late, didn’t have time to charge and must meet someone downtown. Hop on your GenZe, stop and take the battery with you. Then, simply plug it into a 110V socket wherever you are. It’s that simple. Most coffee shops let you recharge your laptop and cellphone when drinking a coffee, and the same holds true in a classroom. This is where the GenZe differentiates itself from other electric scooter companies.
The use of an aluminum exoskeleton allows the GenZe to weigh in under 215 Lbs with a range of over 30 miles. GenZe’s Experience Center in Palo Alto, California has five GenZe electric scooters permanently on display. They are available for people to test them and so far, the feedback has been overwhelming positive. GenZe says they are selling about 2 units a day with a $215 deposit pre-order. The GenZe market will be primarily students and young mobile urbanites. The GenZe resonates well with them because of its ease of use. Students need a practical and smart electric scooter to zip around town and go to classes.
How the GenZe electric scooter differs from others
Once you remove the intimidation a scooter has, the GenZe electric scooter is an appealing electric scooter with no clutch, easy to start, and requires almost no maintenance. But GenZe also plans to shake things up with their marketing strategy. The company will sell the GenZe through a mobile retail strategy instead of stores. In many ways, this is what GenZe is about, mobility sales for mobility needs. Keep a look out near your BART stations, if you live in San Francisco, or around malls, parking facilities and other places where busy urbanites move around. As far as the price, the GenZe will be introduced at $3,000 until December 31st, 2014.
If you want to see the GenZe up close, you can go ride it here.
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Aug. 30-Sept. 1, Fiesta Hermosa (Hermosa Beach)
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Sept. 9, Pershing Square (Downtown LA)
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Sept. 11, USC (University Park)
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Sept. 12-14, Port of Los Angeles Lobster Festival (San Pedro)
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Sept. 19-20, ALT Car Santa Monica (Santa Monica)
If you are as intrigued as we were the first time we saw it, here is a chance to win one! The future looks bright for GenZe with new products planned as early as January of 2015. It will be a variation on the current electric GenZe. GenZe’s idea of going to the customers instead bringing them to their stores has a lot of merit, since after all, GenZe is about electric urban mobility.
