Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest human, is backing an electric car startup based in Florida called Bolt Mobility. This past week, the company unveiled its first car, the B-Nano, which it says it has been working on in secret for the past two years.
Credit: Bolt Mobility
Details about the 2 passenger urban EV are sketchy. According to AutoBlog, the B-Nano — which resembles the Renault Twizy in size and simplicity — is intended to be used much like the two wheeled vehicles used in bike sharing schemes. Short trips of between 2 and 15 miles are its design envelope. No maximum range or top speed is specified by the company.
But the battery — whatever size it is — is engineered to be easily swapped out for fresh battery quickly and easily. Just who would be doing the swapping and where and for how much are questions with no answers at present. What is known is that the base model of the B-Nano will sell for a mere $9,999. Reservations are being accepted now for just $999.
Since Bolt Mobility is based in Florida, you might assume the B-Nano would be intended for use in the US, but the company hasn’t provided any details about its business model as of yet. We do know the company’s shared electric scooters are available for use now in Paris. Is that where the company expects to introduce is electron powered microcar? We simply don’t know.
What we do know is that Chevrolet may be none too happy to have another Bolt on the road. The fact that it is named after the principal investor in the company does not necessarily mean the name doesn’t violate Chevy’s trademark. Tata also has a car called the Nano. It might have something to say whether the name B-Nano infringes on its marketing rights.
If the Bolt B-Nano is indeed headed for France, that may resolve the name issues as neither the Chevy Bolt nor the Tata Nano are sold in that market. We look forward to learning more about this innovative electric runabout.
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