AWARD YEAR
2019
CATEGORY
Play & Learning
GOALS
Industry, Innovation & Infrastructure
KEYWORDS
electric vehicle
COUNTRY
China
DESIGNED BY
Jiangsu Niu Electric Technology Co., Ltd.
WEBSITE
https://www.niu.com/en/
NIU
Electric scooter
Founded by 2015, the Beijing-based company produces electric scooters. Niu’s scooters connect with an app that give drivers maintenance and performance data and also delivers firmware updates. As of the end of June, Niu claims it had sold more than 431,500 smart electric scooters in China, Europe and other markets.
Feature-wise, the N-GT has many of the modern conveniences we increasingly expect from our vehicles, such as automatic headlights, cruise control, a USB charging port for your phone and the ability to use an app to find your scooter in a crowded car park. The display will change colour based on your speed too.
It also has two removable batteries that can be charged on a normal domestic plug — which the company says will “fast charge” in 3.5 hours. This means that you can scoot to work, plug in a relatively portable battery under your desk and steal your office’s electricity, and then it’ll be good to go by the time you can leave.