Partner Article

Regional green scooter plan rolled out

AN ELECTRIC scooter firm is gearing up for a tenfold rise in sales to £1m this year as its green vehicles attract interest from across the globe.

Meanwhile, Consett-based Elecscootis also leading a project which aims to develop and potentially manufacture the next generation of scooters in the North East.

The three-year-old firm imports scooter parts from the Far East and then, using its regional supply chain, modifies them with specialist ‘running gear’ such as intelligent software and control technology.

It has already sold into a number of European markets including the Netherlands and Portugal and is also targeting global oil and gas players which rely on non-fuel vehicles in hazardous environments.

Last year the fledgling business generated £100,000 in annual sales but now is expecting to break the £1m mark this year on the back of a surge in enquiries.

Elecscoot has also teamed up with a consortium of bodies involved in the region’s green transport and design sectors to develop a groundbreaking two-wheeled vehicle which links into new technologies such as iPhone apps.

The prototype is expected to be completed within six months and will ultimately – in part at least – be made in the North East.

Other organisations involved in the project include Design Network North (DNN) and Cramlington-based motorcycle design company Xenophya.

Business development director Andrew Haddon said: “We want a prototype to take into production and ideally we would like to make it here in the North East. Part of the process is analysing the supply chain and we will look to do as much as we can here.

“Our scooters offer a much more affordable green vehicle than some of the four-wheeled options and can be run on 10p a day.”

John Hetherington of DNN said the Elecscoot-led project to create a new two-wheeled green vehicle from scratch is an excellent fit with the region’s aspirations to become a hub for clean technology.

He said: “Once developed the scooter will be one of a number different electric vehicles that will be able to recharge at the hundreds of charging points planned for the region.”

Elecscoot’s development programme also involves the Institute for Automotive and Manufacturing Advance Practice (AMAP) at Sunderland University – a project funded through One North East.

The programme aims to design lighter batteries, harness Bluetooth technology, create a more simplified battery management system and allow for a greater distance between charges.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .