Joerg Teuchert
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You have to hand it over to Lime – they really lean into the whole fruit. Case in point: The shared scooter company is testing a new electric motorcycle in Long Beach, California called, wait for it, the Citra.
It’s the latest lightweight electric vehicle to join the company’s fleet, which has branched out beyond the electric scooters that have defined Lime over the past five years. The Citra motorcycle, which has a large padded seat and can reach a top speed of 20 mph, is designed and built in-house by Lime’s existing manufacturing partners. And the company hopes that with soaring gas prices, customers will flock to a new vehicle that can help replace some of their car trips.
The news comes after Lime quietly killed its shared moped program in New York and Washington, DC. The mopeds, which were first introduced in January 2021, had a top speed of 30mph and were designed for street riding. Lime said he wanted to focus on low-speed vehicles that can run on the bike lane.
Lime plans to launch the new “full-scale” motorcycle in Long Beach. The company plans to start with “several hundred” and could eventually grow to 500 vehicles if traffic is strong, spokesman Russell Murphy said. The edge. The company has no plans to roll out the vehicle in any other market at this time.
“The size of our fleet will vary as we grow and we will scale with demand,” Murphy said. “We expect to have several hundred Citras available this summer, rising to 500 if we see the high footfall we expect.”
The motorcycles are meant to lend credence to Lime’s claims of being more than just a scooter company. The company sees itself as a “platform” for different types of low-speed electric mobility, including Wheels’ pedalless e-bikes and a new generation of shared e-bikes.
“Citra is the latest example of our relentless quest for innovation, aimed at helping cyclists get around town safely, affordably and without emissions,” Joe Kraus, president of Lime, said in a statement.
The rear hub motor produces a rated power of 750W, with a maximum output of 1200W. It has a maximum payload weight of 330 pounds and can travel up to 30 miles on a single charge. The batteries, which have an energy capacity of 1 kWh, up from 0.46 kWh currently, are replaceable and interchangeable with the company’s fleet of e-scooters and e-bikes. This will improve the customer experience by reducing the risk of them encountering vehicles with dead batteries. And it will help Lime save money on maintenance and spare parts.
