Čezeta e-scooter: The rebirth of the chicest communist-era scooter

What type of batteries do they have?

I would guess it has much more to do with shipping and dealerships- you can get these things delivered, but even a horrible quality gas scooter costs 800-1000 USD delivered. A buddy bought one several years ago. It showed up at his doorstep in a neat little box and worked quite nicely once we had changed the oil (full of metal shavings from manufacture), although the CVT and tiny engine weren't quite up to getting on the highway.

Even most scooters and motorcycles in the US are sold through dealers, and they will simply be making no money on a vehicle that costs <$500. It's probably only feasible to store them in a warehouse and ship via freight, which is expensive. I don't know why you don't see them in Walmart, but maybe there's some sort of law or maybe even Walmart can't move them.

They wouldn't pass the safety standards. Most Indian cars got a zero from NCAP

Safety, emissions, and probably IP protection are more likely. Even Piaggio stopped selling scooters in the US because their 2-stroke motors couldn’t meet our emissions requirements.

So, by "not the US" did you mean Vietnam, then? That would have been clearer.

Gratuitous rip of Piagios "Vespa (tm) Trade dress there :-)

Well this is not really targeting the same market then. I also live "not in the US" (in France) and the electric scooter I see the most in our streets is the BMW C evolution which retails at more than 15k euros.

I'm not surprised that things are cheaper in Vietnam given the lower wages and very different culture when it comes to motorized two wheeled vehicles.

I can’t see any product info on the page you link (it’s just a static image; iOS 12 + Safari), but it appears to have a 50cc engine. $700 is still a pretty darn low price point, but I doubt it can go the advertised 95mph the scooter FTA claims. I’ve never seen a stock 50cc anything with claimed top speed above 50mph, so these are entirely different classes in both engineering and safety requirements.

That's one definition. From google define, a second definition is:

"a vehicle typically ridden as a recreation, consisting of a footboard mounted on two wheels and a long steering handle, propelled by resting one foot on the footboard and pushing the other against the ground."

This also comes in electric versions (some of which even incorporate seats!): https://www.google.com/search?q=electric+scooter&safe=strict...

Despite being commonly conflated, mopeds are not scooters. The former having actual crank pedals and the latter not.

Not really.

In many areas, the words are used as synonyms. A scooter could be anything from an unpowered skateboard with a stick to a some powered wheelchairs to a moped with decent speeds, electric or gasoline. A moped is always something one sits on and has wheels, though it can include both the small and large wheels.

Even the legal definitions don't reflect that. The difference is often more dependent on the size of engine, the speeds the vehicle can go, and things like that. These distinctions can make a difference in plates and insurance.

Well, the article claims it is patented. Maybe just shoddy reporting, though. Anyway I always thought the reason all throttles don't work this way was not because no-one had the idea, but for safety concerns.

Who buys a $500 second hand scooter when $1000 second hand cars are available?

Answer: People who want them.

In 80's Czechoslovakia, S51 Enduro was the thing that cool teens had :).

In Berlin you can use a scooter sharing service (Emmy) that has those Schwalbe scooters. If you change the ride-mode to boost the acceleration is very nice indeed, not quite motorcycle fast, but faster than most of the cars.

Yes, Vespa Elettrica is pre-booking for $7,500.

https://prebookingelettrica.vespa.com