A Bit Unexpected
We’ve reported on the possibility of a Ducati electric motorcycle in the future. Now it seems there will be a Ducati scooter long before there’s a Ducati motorcycle. According to electrek, the company recently signed an agreement with a Chinese scooter company called Vmoto. Vmoto makes electric scooters and the new licensing agreement would open the door for a Ducati scooter.
Vmoto said that it will create a special luxury scooter specifically for the Ducati brand. That scooter will come at a premium price. The company currently sells a model called the CUx. That is the scooter than Ducati’s electric scooter will reportedly be based on. The machine will be sold through Vmoto’s current network.
If you haven’t seen any Vmoto CUx scooters anywhere, that’s because Vmoto sells them under the brand Super SOCO. Vmoto also doesn’t sell bikes in North America that I could find. Charles Chen, Vmoto’s Managing Director, said that the company is thrilled to work with Ducati. He went on to say this:
The deal will allow Ducati’s fans to have the opportunity to access premium and high quality 2-wheel electric vehicles supplied by Vmoto and create more confidence to Vmoto’s expanding distributors especially in Europe and further grow Vmoto’s product awareness in these markets.
I’m not sure how I feel about Ducati doing this. I’d rather see the company come out with something on its own. However, the scooter doesn’t sound too bad. It comes with a 2.8 kW (3.75 hp) Bosch hub motor and a top speed of 28 mph. The bike also gets a 1.8 kWh battery pack that’s good for a little over 45 miles.
That’s good enough for many European cities, but it would struggle in North America. It would make sense in some urban areas, but most people are going to want more range and more speed. It will be interesting to see how this partnership develops.
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