Volkswagen Ingenuity for Urban Mobility – The Cityskater

Volkswagen recently announced a family of electric scooters aimed toward the inner-city and urban markets. One of them is the Cityskater. The Cityskater has all you need to cover city terrain, albeit, not as capable as its bigger brother. the Streetmate.

Nonetheless it is not a contender to be eliminated from the running, especially when devices like the Segway Drift W1 are the competition.

The design itself reminds me of a trike, but unlike one, this puppy is ridden standing up. Oh, and I nearly forgot, you will get the impression that it’s all backwards. It’s not. Really now, if Volkswagen doesn’t know what they are doing, who does?

It looks hella cool too. That whole trike look sets it apart from other vehicles of this type. And let’s be honest, imagine walking into the office with a product on which the Volkswagen emblem is present. What’ll they think? Even better, it’s on something this small.

The ‘Skater is designed with two front wheels and one back wheel. The two front wheels offer a higher stability at lower speeds and also allow for very tight maneuvering. Perfect for turning corners on sidewalks or for weaving through red-light traffic. They function like the wheels on a shopping cart, with a swivel movement, making it possible to turn on a dime if needed.

The same black and white color scheme as the Streetmate lets you know that these two devices are related, and just like the Streetmate, the Cityskater too is electric. The entire trinket is pushed by a similar motor to that of the ‘Mate, only smaller. On the ‘Skater you’ll find only a 0.5 HP motor capable of 0.4 kW, unlike the ‘Mates 2.7 Hp motor.

The same type of Lithium-ion battery is used, only smaller. However, due to its smaller size, not much voltage is required to get it back to work. The ‘Skater is designed to be plugged into your electrical socket in either your home, office or anywhere else a 110 or 220 voltage outlet is available.

The steering column, for lack of better words, is not really a steering column at all. Instead it's a support that allows the rider to hold on to while pivoting their legs similar to skiing. It also folds hallway and allows for the City skater to be stored in small spaces, very similarly to other electric scooters that are on the market.

Storing and carrying score major points for the ‘Skater. Coming in at only 33 pounds (15 kg), it can be carried within office spaces, placed on luggage racks, even stored in the trunk of your car.

The ‘Skater won’t be ‘hauling it’ like the ‘Mate, but with a top speed up to 12 miles per hour (20kph), its way better than walking if you are in a rush.

The Cityskater is considered by Volkswagen to be production-ready, so what’s the hold up? No one knows. I personally think its about timing. It’s always been about timing.