Israeli scooter (Archive photo)
Photo: Effie Shrir
Heated scooters provide transportation in freezing weather
Photo: Visual/Photos
Scooting to Scandinavia
Northern Europe takes to Israeli scooter designed for extreme winter climate
Scandinavia's elderly can't remember such a warm winter. While the cold rages outdoors they can be found cruising the streets comfortably in what is described as the ultimate in futuristic scooters, the compact heated Breeze IV.
Developed by the Afikim Electrical Motors company based in Kibbutz Afikim in the Jordan River Valley, which has been developing and manufacturing scooters for over 25 years as a comfortable means of transportation inside Kibbutzim, though urban senior citizens have long since adopted them.
Recently the company has introduced a specially modified vehicle for countries with colder climates. "We recognized a growing demand for our product in colder countries, but those in existence exposed clients to the elements and were incapable of operating during the harshest days of winter," explains Marketing Director Sharon Leventer. To answer these demands the company developed "the Mercedes of scooters", with thousands of units already en route to northern Europe.
The new scooter, the 'Breeze IV', can operate even at a temperature of 35 degrees below zero Celsius (31 degrees below zero Fahrenheit) and comes equipped with tires designed to handle snow and ice. "The vehicle is hermetically sealed to ensure the passengers don't freeze and we've installed a paraffin oven inside," says Leventer of the additional cold weather attributes.
And that's not all. The new vehicle comes with a CD player, cell phone charger and an emergency distress button which will alert the nearest station of the passengers' distress. In the summer the winter gear can be removed and passengers can enjoy the fresh air.
And the price? In Israel NIS 52,000 (USD 12,300); in Europe 12,000 euros (USD 15,500).
