Hyundai Motor Group reveals built-in scooter prototype

Hyundai Motor Group revealed an electric scooter built into a car on Tuesday. This is part of the South Korean auto giant’s total mobility solutions, which cover passengers’ end-to-end travels.

The automotive company plans to launch new vehicles with the new electric scooter from 2021 and an optional feature is under review.

The built-in electric scooter’s lithium-ion battery will be automatically charged with the electricity generated from a car’s driving. One charge will last approximately 20 kilometers. The speed limit of the scooter will be 20 kilometers per hour. It is small in size with the three-fold design and weighs 7.7 kilograms, which is the lightest among the similar models currently available in the market.

The electric scooter is a personal means of transportation to be used in the last mile, a term referring to the distance to the final destination that can’t be driven in a car. There’s a growing competition to dominate the last mile-related market in the global automobile industry. U.S. auto manufacturer Ford introduced robots to for the last mile shipping and Toyota of Japan launched service utilizing self-driving cars.

Global consulting firm McKinsey& Company estimates that the last mile mobility market in the U.S., Europe, and China will grow to 500 billion U.S. dollars by 2030. The last mile mobility market in South Korea is also expected to reach 600 billion won by 2022.


Do-Hyong Kim dodo@donga.com