Photo: GM
Back in November 2018, American car group GM announced its plans to launch its first products for the ebike market, a ramification of the company’s plans for electrification. At the time, in exchange for a $10,000 prize, GM asked the public for help in naming the new brand.
To date, we have no idea who won the $10,000 prize for naming the brand, but GM announced earlier this week it has settled on a name. At the end of the months-long crowdsourcing campaign, GM decided to go with ARIV, spelled with the weird looking I borrowed from the Latvian language.
The ARIV lineup of ebikes will include two models at launch, the compact Meld and the folding Merge. Both will be manufactured in Michigan and Oshawa, Ontario, but for now will only sell across the pond, in three European countries: Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
GM says it chose to launch the bikes on these particular markets “due to the popularity of lithium-ion battery-powered eBikes.” For the same reason, the carmaker feels comfortable selling the Meld for prices that start from 2,750 EUR and the Merge from 3,350 EUR. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter of the year.
Both ebikes use a battery system that can gives them a range of 64 km on a single charge (40 miles), and that takes 3.5 hours to recharge. The electric motor fitted on both allows them to reach speeds of up to 25 kph (15.5 mph).
Both the Merge and the Meld have their own dedicated app that provides metrics like speed, distance, remaining battery level, motor assist level, or distance traveled. A Quad Lock mount system, meant to facilitate the attachment of the smartphone to the ebikes is included in the price.
GM says customers in the three launch markets can already pre-order their ebikes on Bike Exchange.
The ARIV lineup of ebikes will include two models at launch, the compact Meld and the folding Merge. Both will be manufactured in Michigan and Oshawa, Ontario, but for now will only sell across the pond, in three European countries: Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
GM says it chose to launch the bikes on these particular markets “due to the popularity of lithium-ion battery-powered eBikes.” For the same reason, the carmaker feels comfortable selling the Meld for prices that start from 2,750 EUR and the Merge from 3,350 EUR. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second quarter of the year.
Both ebikes use a battery system that can gives them a range of 64 km on a single charge (40 miles), and that takes 3.5 hours to recharge. The electric motor fitted on both allows them to reach speeds of up to 25 kph (15.5 mph).
Both the Merge and the Meld have their own dedicated app that provides metrics like speed, distance, remaining battery level, motor assist level, or distance traveled. A Quad Lock mount system, meant to facilitate the attachment of the smartphone to the ebikes is included in the price.
GM says customers in the three launch markets can already pre-order their ebikes on Bike Exchange.
Google News