Shell, the company known for selling gasoline to fill your car, is trying to diversify with other forms of transit, like making electric scooters. That’s right, instead of driving to the red and yellow mollusk in one of the corners of your town for a fossil fuel fill-up, you can just ride with it on a battery-powered Shell Ride scooter.

Shell itself isn’t the one building and selling them. Rather, the gas company licensed out its name to US-based manufacturer Lotus International last year, which then gave birth to Shell Ride-branded e-scooters and e-bikes. Lotus doesn’t necessarily make them either, but handles the distribution and marketing — including making an unboxing video of its Shell Ride SR-5S Electric Scooter that’s capable of up to 20 miles of range, up to 15mph speeds, and sells for $549.99.
























The company primarily gives product updates on its LinkedIn page.


Image: Lotus via LinkedIn







The company is also prepping a slower and smaller scooter (SR-4S) and a more versatile one that has a removable battery pack (SR-6S), which will sell for $499.99 and $799.99, respectively — though neither is available yet. There are Shell Ride e-bikes in the pipeline as well, and they’ll cost between $1,199.99 and $1,899.99. It’s not clear where Lotus is actually sourcing any of these products, though the original scooter looks like one of the many Xiaomi M365 clones out there.

Beyond the Shell Ride offshoot, Shell has also put its logo on other consumer electronics, like portable power banks that can charge with both USB-C and legacy Micro USB, and stuff that feels more on-brand, like lead acid battery chargers.

Okay, so at least Shell is trying things — or perhaps it’s preparing itself. Shell is already being forced by Dutch courts to cut carbon emissions by almost half by 2030. And as stricter international regulations on carbon emissions progress, more oil companies will need to change to combat climate change this decade. Shell knows it’s kind of playing the self-aware wolf here. I mean, it’s selling electric vehicle charging equipment, too.

Update, 11:45AM ET: Clarified that Lotus (not to be confused with the car company) doesn’t necessarily make these e-rideables either.

Source: The Verge

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