Entertainment

NIU is a world leader in smart electric mopeds, and the company’s newly released 2021 sales figures demonstrate why.

NIU has a wide lineup of electric two-wheelers that includes mopeds, standing scooters, bikes and motorcycles.

Across that diverse product selection, NIU announced that it sold a total of 238,188 units in Q4 2021. Compared to the 150,465 units sold in Q4 2020, that represents a 58% increase year over year.

NIU’s domestic market in China makes up the lion’s share of the company’s sales. A total of 205,239 of those units in Q4 2021 came from the Chinese market. That represents a 49.2% year over year growth in the company’s domestic market.

The company’s international sales grew even larger though, increasing to 32,949 units in Q4 2021 and representing an impressive 155.8% growth year over year.

As a whole for 2021, the company sold 1,037,914 units, representing a 72.5% year-over-year growth. A total of 988,023 of those units came from sales in the Chinese market, while 49,891 were international sales.

Near the end of 2021, NIU showed off a number of new products at the EICMA Milan Motorcycle Show.

The MQi GT EVO was unveiled as NIU’s fastest e-scooter yet, touting a top speed of 100 km/h (62 mph).

The scooter also features NIU’s highest power hub motor to date with 5 kW (6.7 hp) on tap. Power gets supplied by a pair of 72V 26Ah batteries touting up to 85 km (53 miles) of range.

The MQi GT EVO has been redesigned inside and out compared to the previous MQi models, as chief innovation officer Token Hu explained:

“When we sat down to build the EVO, we had one goal in mind – this bike has got to be fun from the moment you pull the throttle.”

More than just extra power, NIU has included a number of new features in the scooter such as keyless start, electric anti-theft steering column lock, and app-enabled sharing profiles to let riders share the scooter with family without requiring a key, and an all new TFT color display.

The MQi GT EVO will be priced at €4,999 in Europe, including three years of connectivity and app services.

You can check out the new scooter and NIU’s other models like the RQi electric motorcycle in the video below that we shot from the show floor.

NIU also showed off the latest version of its RQi Sport electric motorcycle. First unveiled at CES 2020, the project was delayed by the pandemic but appears to be getting closer to production.

The original RQi was claimed to reach a top speed of 160 km/h (100 mph), but that version is now expected to follow behind the Sport, which will be released with a 110 km/h (68 mph) top speed.

The RQi Sport is more of a city-oriented electric motorcycle with enough speed to take it on larger urban highways as well as typical city streets.

Power is provided by a 5 kW mid-mounted motor and chain drive. A pair of removable 72V 36Ah batteries offers nearly 5.2 kWh of stored energy, and can be charged from NIU’s fast charger in under four hours from a typical home wall outlet.

A “Launch Mode” will also be available to provide extra power upon acceleration to help riders blow ahead of cars when the light turns green. 

While the RQi will surely excite motorcycle fans, electric bike fans will be more interested in NIU’s upcoming BQi electric bike.

The e-bike uses a novel frame design and a pair of hidden batteries to provide up to 60 miles (100 km) of range.

The US version of the e-bike will have a throttle in addition to pedal assist and will reach speeds of 20 mph (32 km/h).

The European version of the e-bike will be limited to 25 km/h (15.5 mph) and will lack a hand throttle, conforming with local laws and regulation.


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