Hyundai unveils prototype vehicle-mounted portable electric scooter

[Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group]

SEOUL -- For young millennials who are keen to use new technologies, Hyundai Motor has unveiled an innovative means of transport which would help drivers to move the last mile of their journey after parking.

A prototype for a vehicle-mounted electric scooter revealed on Tuesday through Hyundai's news blog has a unique tri-folding design. It can travel up to 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) at a top speed of 20 km per hour. Hyundai said the scooter would be available as an option for Hyundai and Kia cars from 2021.

"Our personal electric scooter makes first- and last-mile commuting a joy, while helping to reduce congestion and emissions in city centers," Hyundai's robotics team head Hyun Dong-jin was quoted as saying. Hyundai's brainchild was first revealed as a concept at CES 2017, an annual consumer electronics show in Las Vegas.

[Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group]

The rear-wheel driven scooter features a 10.5 Ah lithium battery. When mounted on a vehicle, it is charged automatically using electricity generated by the car. It has a suspension system on its wheels to provide stability as well as highly visible LED headlamps and rear tail lamps.

Ampere-hours (Ah) is used to express how long a battery can run while discharging a given amount of power.

Hyundai has released "Venue", an affordable compact sport utility vehicle (SUV), packed with latest safety technologies such as forward-collision-avoidance assist and lane-keeping-assist features, which received positive feedback from young consumers who enjoy a single or DINK life. DINK is an acronym that stands for "double income, no kids".

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

Hyundai unveils prototype vehicle-mounted portable electric scooter

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