Stagnant wages, rising gas prices, WFH job culture, and a new car “seller’s” market are driving people to rethink the way they get from A to B … and creating a perfect storm for electric scooters.
The Wall Street Journal’s Rache Wolfe spoke to Miami e-scooter manufacturer Fluidfreeride, who have sold more than twice as many e-scooters this month than the month before. What’s more, company founder Julian Fernau says their sales are up 70% over March last year, with website traffic up about 30% since gas prices shot up at the fastest rate on record earlier this month.
Over at Bird, another well-known e-scooter manufacturer, sales are up 60% since gas prices spiked, according to a spokeswoman there. E-bike and motorized skateboard sales, too, continue to rise – but we know there’s more to it than the the price of gas and miles per gallon.
Smiles per Gallon
At last year’s Electrify Expo, more than 50,000 people had a chance to experience a wide range of e-mobility products first hand. From electric BMWs to powered surfboards and personal submarines and everything in between. And, sure – lots of people talked about savings at the pump even then, but the real takeaway wasn’t about frugality or convenience or even saving the planet. The real game-changer was the fun that e-mobility delivered again and again.
“E-bikes take the ‘suck’ out of cycling,” said Harley-Davidson Serial 1’s Aaron Frank, at the Orange County unveiling of the MOSG Tribute special edition e-bike. And he’s right – by taking the hard work out of cycling at the steepest part of the learning curve, e-bikes offer the experience of cycling we remember as kids. All the freedom, all the speed, and none of the soreness of adult muscles the next day.
Indeed, even the Wall Street Journal article touches on this, citing the case of Alina Yakubova, who says her sanity was saved by e-scooters. “I was seriously contemplating switching to a landscaping job,” she told the WSJ, explaining the burnout from a long commute to her university job. Last summer, she discovered she could ride to the train, fold up her $900 Segway Ninebot scooter, and be at work within 40 minutes of leaving the house … all with a smile on her face. “You feel like that easy rider with wind in your hair!”
It’s hard to argue with that – and we won’t even try! Instead, we’ll invite you to join us at one of five major cities on the 2022 Electrify Expo tour and experience the biggest e-mobility brands for yourself to see which e-scooter is right for you. With or without high gas prices, we think you’ll agree: a battery-powered smile will make your day!
SOURCE | IMAGES: WALL STREET JOURNAL.
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