Amble pitches a street-legal electric buggy for short trips
The Lisbon startup’s Amble One targets resorts first, with a $25,000 price goal and 2028 deliveries planned.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
3 min read
Lisbon-based startup Amble is taking orders for a compact electric buggy aimed at short local trips rather than highway driving, The Verge reported. The company is positioning the Amble One first for hotels and resorts, while also eyeing households that want a smaller second vehicle.
Amble CEO Adrien Roose told The Verge the company does not intend to challenge conventional cars directly. He said many families in Europe and the United States have two cars, with one used for longer trips and the other often used for errands such as school runs and grocery shopping.
According to The Verge, the Amble One is a premium open-air vehicle with no doors, folding front seats, a digital display and physical controls. The cabin uses leather and cork, and the vehicle includes a front cargo rack, fold-flat rear seats and built-in mounts for add-ons such as baskets, straps and mirrors.
The Verge reported that the Amble One uses a 15 kW motor and an 11 kWh battery. Its top speed is 40 mph, or 65 km/h, and Amble says it can travel more than 62 miles, or 100 km, on a charge. The company says the battery can recharge from a standard wall outlet in five hours.
Roose told The Verge that weight has been a major engineering constraint because Amble is seeking approval under Europe’s L7e quadricycle rules. Under those rules, The Verge reported, the complete vehicle including the battery must weigh less than 450 kilograms, or 992 pounds.
Amble’s leadership includes Roose, formerly of Belgian e-bike company Cowboy; founder and chairman José António Uva, a Portuguese hotelier and entrepreneur; design lead Julian Hoenig, whose past work includes Audi vehicles and Apple products; and cofounder and chief creative officer Michael Tropper, The Verge reported.
The company is starting with hospitality fleet sales because Roose described that route to The Verge as easier than launching directly with consumer sales. Roose also said the response to the Amble One may push the company to speed up plans for a street-legal version in the United States.
Reservations are open with a $100 deposit, The Verge reported. Amble is targeting a $25,000 starting price and deliveries in 2028, and Roose said the company has received more than 1,000 reservations.
Amble will not build the vehicle itself, according to The Verge. Roose said the company has partnered with an unnamed contract manufacturer that he described as a Tier 1 automotive supplier with about 1,100 employees and experience making electric-vehicle components. Motors will come from Germany, reducers from Italy and batteries from China, The Verge reported.
The Verge reported that Amble plans to export the first vehicles to the United States from Europe before considering U.S. production for American buyers. The vehicle would enter a small but growing field that includes microcars and neighborhood vehicles such as the Microlino, Citroën Ami, Fiat Topolino and Japanese kei cars.
Roose told The Verge that Amble is looking at buyers who enjoy driving and design but want something smaller than a full-size pickup. He pointed to the popularity of golf carts and low-speed neighborhood vehicles in parts of the United States, especially in Sun Belt communities.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.