LEMev STREAM is the name of the electric scooter recently launched on to the Spanish market.
LEMev Stream is an electric vehicle equivalent to a 125 cc scooter – valid to ride with a car driving licence – and aimed at users who drive an average of 20-50 km a day.
Already on sale in the Basque city of Donostia-San Sebastián, the LEMev Stream electric scooter will soon be available in other cities like Pamplona, Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza.
Performance-wise, the LEMev Stream compares well to petrol-powered 125 cc scooters – it has a maximum speed of 108 km/h and acceleration comparable to that of a 500 cc scooter. This acceleration is achieved by pressing the above-mentioned “Boost” button, although this will directly affect the electric energy consumption and, thus, the battery life of the vehicle. If this button is not used, the STREAM function in economy mode and the battery life can reach 80 kilometers.
The type of battery employed is lithium with iron phosphate (LiFePO4), a variant on the lithium ion battery, without the memory effects of the traditional batteries on recharging; these batteries are practically for life, as their useful life is 2,000 charging cycles or 160,000 km. The electric motor, without the dynamo brushes and with 22 CV maximum power, is found inside the back wheel, thus saving interior space for the scooter and eliminating transmissions which could cause power losses.
As regards the controls, the STREAM provides the regular ones for scooters, with two special additional ones: the “Boost” button on the right-hand grip (instead of the starter button) is a kind of “Turbo” which provides maximum power from the electric motor (22 CV) in order to increase acceleration in special situations; the intensive use of this function considerably reduce the battery life of the scooter. On the left-hand grip there is a thumb-operated “regenerative” brake handle, providing smoother braking than with disc brakes, with the novelty that the braking energy thus created is reused to charge the battery.
The regular sale price is 5,350€ (including VAT) which drops to 4,216€ with the subsidy of 25% from the Spanish government.
The comparison with similar performance, petrol-driven scooters is inevitable. Considering the cost of a kW-h being 0.14 € and recharging batteries every 80 km, the overall electric running cost comes out at 0.63 € per 100 km, whereas a 125 cc scooter consuming 4 liters of petrol per 100 km and at 1.4 €/liter, will consume 5.6 € per 100 km. to this the cost of maintenance of petrol-driven vehicles – about 125 € every 5,000 km must be added. It should be remembered that the LEMev Stream is maintenance-free, the cost of items prone to wear and tear (tyres, brakes, etc.) of about 100 € every 5,000 km is common to both. Given all this, and doing 9,000 km a year, the net savings offered by the LEMev Stream is 672,30 € annually, meaning that the vehicle works out free after just 6,5 years.
[source: LEMev via Pure Green Cars][wzslider height=”400″ lightbox=”true”]
