GM’s New E-Bikes Are Now Here– Initially Available In Limited Countries

General Motors (GM) unveiled new electric bikes and made an announcement in November 2018 along with crowdsourcing campaign to name it because no actual name has given to the bike yet. However, GM itself gave a name to bikes 'ARIV'. GM hasn’t revealed much about the bike yet and staying silent on the key specs like its color, size, weight, range, price, launching date etc.

About models

Although it is to be heard that the GM will initially offer two models – one is ‘Folding’ and other is ‘Compact’. The folding model is called “Merge” and the compact electric bike is named as a “Meld”. According to GM news, both bikes have a top speed of 25 kph (15.5 mph) with four levels of pedals electric-assist power. The bike is powered by the battery which gives you 64 km of range at a one-time charge and the battery takes 3.5 hours to complete charge, the automaker said.

The features

GM claims, ARIV includes a lot of features such as it can connect with an app via Bluetooth through which rider can measure their speed, distances remaining battery level, motor assist level and distance travelled. Along with this, engineers designed bike while keeping safety components in mind in Michigan and Oshawa, Ontario, with rechargeable front and rear LED safety lights, USB phone charger and the best one is ‘oversized’ brake rotors are also the parts. As the name of the bike describes it’s one of the features that it can be folded while not in use. The GM is also working on the ‘Quad Lock Mount’, a system attaches your smartphone securely. Along with this, the company plans to add a feature that will use a proprietary algorithm to help riders arrive at their destination.

Availability

As the company decides to launch e-bike firstly in Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands because these markets have a huge demand for e-bikes powered by a lithium-ion battery. However, there is no date has disclosed for the US and other countries customers yet. Also, the customers can pre-order the bike via website www.BikeExchange.com but the delivery will begin from the second quarter of 2019. In all, the customers still have to wait to experience the bike.

Expected cost

The company still not give any confirmation about the pricing range but a lump sum amount has told for the different models of the e-bike. It is cleared that Meld will be cheaper that Merge as it is a folding model. In the case of Belgium and Netherlands – meld is expected for €2.800 (approx. $3,100) and Model Merge for €3.400 (approx $3,800). Similarly, the cost for Meld model is €2.750 and €3.350 for Merge model. Changes may take place in the price of the bike at the time of launching. 

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