
China's largest electric scooter maker Niu files for $150M IPO in the US - jseliger
https://electrek.co/2018/09/25/chinas-electric-scooter-files-ipo/
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singularity2001
There are already 100 million (!) electro scooters in use in China:

[https://www.accessmagazine.org/fall-2010/electric-two-
wheele...](https://www.accessmagazine.org/fall-2010/electric-two-wheelers-
china-promise-progress-potential/)

This mega trend went mostly unnoticed in the West.

Update: now 200mio

(sorry for posting this the 4th time in two weeks, but it's a perfect fit and
important)

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askaboutit
China also has the most share bikes too! They’re just mostly on piles of
dumped to rust.

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askaboutit
Yamaha, Honda + some other Japanese brand dominate this market in volume.
They’re the ones that will switch over to electric without issue. The Japanese
are definitely waiting longer than normal. But they’re the ones that will have
the largest car and motorbike producers to make the switch when they want.

I’ve riden a Niu. Was nothing new or exciting. GPS, lcd and apps are the last
thing people want out of a scooter. Go and back. Go and back. Go and back.
That’s all a scooter is and will be used for. Because scooters a cheap item.

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schuke
They make great engines but do they make great battery and motors too? What
other parts are sophisticated on a scooter? How would they compete with
Chinese rivals? I live in China but have never seen anything from any
manufacturer other than local ones. I've always wondered why there isn't a
Honda scooter. It seems these scooters tend to weigh and ride more like
bicycles (light & slow) rather than motorcycles (heavy and fast). Do they
require very different design / manufacture skillsets? Some analysis on this
would make interesting reading.

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askaboutit
[https://www.atherenergy.com/](https://www.atherenergy.com/)

This is the Indian player. Trually the first real forward thinking “scooter”
I’ve seen that’s electric. Completely rebuilt from the “ground up” I’d say.
Niu is slapped together hedge fund money.

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jseliger
Ather is cool-looking but also seems to be shipping in one city, if that; I'd
like to see a bit more scale first. With scooters, I also think removable
batteries are the way to go: that makes them harder to steal, in at least one
dimension, and easier to recharge for apartment-dwellers.

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askaboutit
Apartments need to build charging areas. Bringing a lithium ion battery into
your home is a bad idea. Any apartment complex with any liability will ban
them.

Tesla’s and Ferrari’s get stolen. Everything can be stolen. That’s what
insurance is for.

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baybal2
The headline is factually incorrect. The biggest maker of eScooters in China
is Jiangsu Aima Manufacturing.

NIU is not even third or fourth.

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pingec
I'm impatiently waiting for the Gogoro scooters to come to Europe to buy one,
I don't know why they are taking so long :(

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rorykoehler
I saw them in Berlin?

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pingec
Afaik, they are only for rent and capped at 25kph (same Paris). And even those
one cannot just buy as an individual I believe.

I would like to own the real deal like in Taiwan - without restrictions they
can do up to 100 kph.

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wongarsu
By capping to 25km/h they can likely stay within the regulations for small
mopeds (not even requiring a proper driver licence and having relaxed
requirements for the vehicle). If they go to 45km/h they would be treated as a
regular scooter that requires a regular drivers licence (or a smaller one for
slow vehicles). If they go 100km/h they would be treated as a motorcycle,
requiring a special driver licence for motorcycles, and having to comply to
safety requirements for motorcycles etc.

I don't think we will see them going over 45 km/h in Europe

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pingec
Yes, of course, I understand that. I already have a Honda scooter that does
100 kph but the Gogoro is superior in so many ways...

A Gogoro as a 25kph max vehicle is a way overpriced and overengineered product
(with the price reflecting that).

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the_clarence
So how do I buy a share? Do I need to be a large investor or can I do it
through robinhood?

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repsilat
When they list on the NASDAQ you should see them under the ticker "NIU" in
RobinHood. The filing says they want to IPO ASAP, but I don't know how soon
that is.

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lumberjack
Why so much hype over electric scooters? Western people did no adopt gas
scooters. Electric scooters are not that different and if anything slightly
inferior.

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Numberwang
Have you ever tried one? They are amazing in so many ways. Silent, compact and
environmentally friendly.

They are everywhere here in Malta and it is reducing traffic congestion very
noticeably.

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rqs
And (For most of the time) easier to park compare to a car.

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jseliger
Since a scooter is like two feet by four feet and a car is like eight feet by
fourteen feet, scooters are going to be far easier to park than cars: like
three to five can fit in a conventional parking spot, compared to one car.
Given the smaller amount of space needed between vehicles, the numbers might
be even more favorable.

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partingshots
At this point, it’s clear that these Chinese companies are making a mad dash
to get as much money as they can before investors finally catch onto them.

I honestly fear for China’s markets if only because of the instability that
will come along with it.

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Gibbon1
I think Chinese companies are making a mad dash to grab as much market share
as transportation switches rapidly away from petroleum.

Scooters are kinda interesting in that an electric scooter appears to be more
of an 'appliance' than gasoline scooters which seem more of a 'lifestyle'

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janfoeh
I would agree with that notion. I drive a Niu; it's very much fun to drive and
I enjoy it, but I have a rather utalitarian view of it. Meanwhile, my
girlfriend tried and liked it, but ultimately settled on a Vespa and loves it
dearly.

It's probably a matter of time. I would be surprised if this were not to
change as soon as a generation or two grew up having on of these in their
teens.

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walshemj
I have seen reviews and Vespas always get preferred as build and ride quality
is so much better plus ABS and Traction control.

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janfoeh
No doubt about it, the Vespa wins hands down when it comes to build quality
and resale value. The build quality comes at a significant cost in weight,
though.

Ride quality - both have their strengths. In the end I'd still choose the Niu
for its agility, directness and, most importantly, silence.

ABS would be a real boon, but her LX50 doesn't have that either. Definitely
something I'd like to see on my next one.

