May 9 2014
With a maximum speed of 18km/h and a range per maximum charge (90 minutes) of 23km, a smart electric unicycle without steering wheel or seat is being produced in the Changzhou National Hi-Tech District (CND) in Jiangsu, China, and has quickly gained popularity.
The unicycle, produced by Changzhou Airwheel Technology Co., Ltd, incorporates the latest in fuzzy software, posture control, motion control, anti-electromagnetic interference and a gyroscope, yet is stylish, portable and easy to use. The 9kg vehicle can be used for transport, exercise, or fun. Despite the maximum speed of 18km/h, an alarm can be set to signal when the speed exceeds 12km/h. The model has quickly become popular since its introduction in last July. Changzhou Airwheel Technology now has more than 200 franchise stores across China, and has opened a flagship webstore on the leading Chinese shopping website including Taobao.com, Tmall.com and JD.com.
"When we contacted venture capital firms, they recommended that we locate to CND, and we are pleased with our choice. Changzhou is centrally located along China's eastern coast, a convenient location in terms of domestic logistics as well as oversea trade and export. In addition, the city has a developed economy and well-equipped processing facilities. Most importantly, Changzhou provides supporting policies and entrepreneurship services for high-tech companies," said Zuo Guogang, founder of Changzhou Airwheel Technology.
"The municipal government of Changzhou not only provided us with CNY 3 million as research and development funding, but also supported us with equity investment valued at CNY 5 million. In addition, the Changzhou Creative Industries Park helped us with the paperwork required for industrial and commercial licenses as well as with the tax reporting. The local government offices were quite proactive in asking us about difficulties we encountered and assisted us with solutions, including new location for our expanded factory. Their assistance was a huge help, and facilitate us so as to focus mainly on the core part of the business -- production and operation."
Changzhou Airwheel Technology is among the companies CND attracted last year under the "Changzhou Talent Program." The company aims to produce more than 100,000 Airwheel scooters this year, and anticipates sales exceeding CNY 200 million with the state-of-art R&D into manned aircraft.