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Urban transport is changing rapidly and radically. People’s new environmental sensitivity goes well with the need to travel quickly in the city, avoiding traffic and using dynamic but also safe means of transport. The news of recent times highlights the need for the urban network to better accommodate vehicles such as bicycles and scooters, which, inserted in a “difficult” scenario, become the scapegoat and main evil of a mobility that instead needs to be updated, in concert with the city fabric. In short: we can have the best scooter in the world, the safest and most stable, but if we continue not to dedicate the right areas to these tools, mixing everything that does not travel on four wheels and relegating it to a restricted space on the road, the risks remain .
And this is the idea of Giovanni Testa, Chief Operating Officer of Esprinet, which controls the Nilox brand, one of the main manufacturers of electric scooters in the world. «Even if some look at the recent invasion of scooters with a certain perplexity, the adoption of sustainable alternatives to cars and scooters is not a passing fad, but a trend destined to continue and expand – he tells us during the IFA in Berlin – on one condition: focus attention on the issue of safety. Leading this small green revolution in Italy were brands like ours, which have always been at the forefront of innovation, which have dictated a new step in the world of electric mobility also and above all with regards to reliability and safety. Nilox is constantly committed to responding promptly and practically not only to the needs and trends of the market, but also to the constantly evolving regulatory changes, with the ultimate aim of improving road traffic and living in safer urban spaces”.
Anticipate needs
In fact, the brand develops its products internally, so as to be quicker to integrate new features, as in the case of the S1 model, which introduced turn signals also in the front LED for the first time, anticipating the legislation in force. force. Similarly to what was done with the latest model of Lizard electric scooter for off-road, presented at IFA 2023, which stands out for the presence of the license plate holder in the mudguard, to be aligned with what will be the new Highway Code. Approved by the Council of Ministers on 27 June 2023, and waiting to be examined and voted on by Parliament, the Code suggests the presence, even for electric scooters, of adopting a license plate holder system, for possible integration of the recognition in the future. To date, electric scooters must be equipped with turn and brake indicator lights on both wheels; an electric motor with a continuous rated power not exceeding 0.50 kW; acoustic signal, speed regulator configurable according to limits and double brake. «The new rules for electric scooters will also include the obligation to wear helmets for all drivers (not just minors), insurance for 100% electric scooters and the limitation of circulation only on urban roads with a limit of 50 km /h” recalls Testa.
Group attentive to sustainability
If the desire is to build a product that lasts over time, as well as respects regulations, Lizard is the flagship of the Nilox innovations brought to Berlin. It can travel in the city as well as on rougher terrain, thanks to the 10-inch wheels, which are no longer smooth but have bodies, which, thanks to the suspension fork, absorb shocks better and promise better stability. It takes 7 hours to recharge the battery with which to travel for an average of 40 kilometers. This remains, charging, a point on which Nilox is working and on which there could be some surprises, even if not in the near future. «Let’s think about the possibility of integrating self-charging methods into these systems, perhaps with solar panels. Technology has now reached a point where it allows, almost everywhere, to exploit the advantages of solar charging to reduce the use of traditional electricity. Will we see ad-hoc solar panels for scooters tomorrow? Looking ahead, I say yes: we are now all moving in the direction of sustainability and it is normal, as well as desirable, that urban mobility also follows this direction.”