"Indian Driving Conditions" range: 112 miles. Basically the same range as a full tank of gas on a combustion engine scooter.
Top speed: 65 miles per hour.
And that's the budget version of their flagship Simple One, which has a longer range (150 miles).
Looking at electric scooters available in the US, I see:
The BMW C Evolution. Shorter range (99 miles), higher top speed (80mph) ... and a price tag about ten times as high. And ...
The CSC Wiz. Only about $2,500, but a top speed of only 43.5 mph and a range of less than 50 miles.
If Simple Energy could get this thing into the US market at less than $3k retail, I think they'd have a winner. It would make a great little bike for commutes of, say, 50 miles daily, or for longer overnight trips (to places with electricity for recharging). Its top speed could handle country highway and urbanish freeway jaunts (I suspect it's too light, and consumes too much power at extended top speed, for long freeway trips).
At this point, I feel pretty committed to the motorcycle, rather than scooter, platform style, although I'd make an exception for something like the Suzuki Burgman 650. But I'd at least be tempted. The US market segment I'm thinking of for the Simple OneS is "college or work commuter, in a relatively warm region, who lives within 50 miles of venue."
