You have to hand it over to Lime – they really lean on the whole fruit thing. Case in point: The scooter-sharing company is testing a new electric motorcycle in Long Beach, California, called, wait, the Citra.
It is the latest lightweight electric vehicle to join the company’s fleet, which has expanded beyond the electric kick scooters that have defined Lime over the past five years. Featuring a large padded seat and a top speed of 30 km/h, the Citra motorcycle was designed and built in-house by Lime’s existing production partners. And the company hopes that, with rising gas prices, customers will flock to a new vehicle that can help replace some of their car journeys.
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The news comes after Lime quietly murdered shared moped program in New York City and Washington, DC† First introduced in January 2021, the mopeds had a top speed of 50 km/h and were designed for street driving. Lime said it wants to focus on lower-speed vehicles that can travel on the bike path.
Lime plans to launch the new motorcycle “to scale” in Long Beach. The company plans to start with “several hundreds” and could eventually hit 500 vehicles if the number of drivers is strong, spokesman Russell Murphy said. The edge† The company currently has no plans to deploy the vehicle in any other market.
“Our fleet size will be variable as we grow and we will grow with demand,” Murphy said. “We expect to have several hundred Citras available this summer, with a maximum of 500 as we see the strong driving crowd we expect.”
The bikes are meant to give credence to Lime’s claims that they are more than just a scooter company. The company sees itself as a “platform” for various types of slow, electric-powered mobility, including Wheels pedalless e-bikes and a new generation of electric shared bicycles.
“Citra is the latest example of our relentless pursuit of innovation, focused on helping riders move around cities safely, affordably and zero-emissions,” said Joe Kraus, president of Lime, in a statement.
The rear hub motor is rated at 750 W, with a peak power of 1200 W. It has a maximum payload of 330 pounds and can travel up to 30 miles on a single charge. The batteries, with an energy capacity of 1 kWh, now 0.46 kWh, are interchangeable and interchangeable with the company’s fleet of electric scooters and e-bikes. This will improve the customer experience by making it less likely that they will encounter vehicles with dead batteries. And it helps Lime save money on maintenance and replacement parts.