Honda Motor said Monday that a startup founded by its engineers will start selling a new three-wheel electric scooter domestically this year which allows riders to maintain their balance even at very low speeds.
The scooter is designed to handle bumpy roads or slopes and prevent some of the accidents that have plagued other types of stand-up scooters, the automaker said.
Striemo, a Tokyo-based startup established by Honda's engineers, designed the scooter plans to commence sales in Europe in 2023. The scooter was named Striemo after the company.
The venture began accepting applications for sales by lottery from Monday and will initially sell 300 units, with each priced at ¥260,000.
The Striemo, which can travel up to 30 kilometers on a single charge and has a maximum speed of 25 kilometers per hour, will be classified as a motorcycle, meaning a driver's license is required to operate it and it must be used on vehicle lanes in principle.
The venture will also be developing a new model to comply with the revised road traffic law that allows vehicles to travel on sidewalks as long as they have a maximum speed of 6 kph.