American engineer Erik Buell has teamed up with Frédéric Vasseur and Francois-Xavier Terny to launch Fuell – an electric two-wheeler brand that will specialise in urban mobility solutions. The brand is set to fully reveal both products on April 23, 2019. Frédéric Vasseur is the team principal at the Alfa Romeo F1 team and founder of Spark Racing Technology, which builds the Formula E powertrains. François-Xavier Terny, on the other hand, is an entrepreneur who has invested in companies like Veldt Helmets and is the CEO of high-end motorcycle brand Vanguard Moto Inc.
Backed by the expertise provided by his partners, Buell aims to enter the EV segment. The two upcoming products that have been announced are the Flow e-motorcycle and the Fluid electric cycle. The Flow will be available in a 11kW Flow-1 (150-200cc equivalent) and a 35kW Flow-1S version (350-400cc equivalent). From what can be seen of the design, it seems like the Flow features a motor that is packed into the rear wheel hub, eliminating the use of a chain or a belt. Meanwhile, the electric cycle Fluid, will be available with two removable batteries with a total of 980Wh, with a claimed range of up to 125 miles (200km). The Fluid will be offered in a 250W motor Pedelec (max speed 32kph) or a 500W motor S-Pedelec (max speed 45kph) model.
Prices for the Flow start at $10,995 (Rs 7.69 lakh) and $3,295 (Rs 2.3 lakh) for the Fluid in the United States of America. Fuell claim that deliveries of the Fluid will start in 2019, with the Flow being made available in 2021 in the USA. It remains to be seen which other markets Fuell will make itself available in.
Azaman Chothia
