NIU’s Concept 06 Scooter is Their First Real Shot at Highway Riding

NIU brought the Concept 06 to EICMA 2025, and it’s not another city scooter. Their current models like the NQi GTS Sport top out around 43 mph, which is fine for urban commuting but useless on highways. This one does 96 mph with a 20 kW motor, putting it in the same class as BMW’s CE 04. That’s genuine motorway capability, not the “technically highway legal” stuff that makes you nervous every time a truck passes you.

The battery isn’t officially confirmed yet, but based on the chassis size it’s probably 6-9 kWh. The BMW CE 04 uses an 8.9 kWh pack and gets about 81 miles in real-world conditions, so if NIU’s efficiency is similar, 93+ miles of range is realistic. That means you could handle most daily commutes and errands without charging, plus short weekend trips.

The Hardware Stuff That Actually Matters

The 9.3-inch TFT display runs NIU’s new Linx OS and uses a rotary controller plus touchscreen. That’s bigger than the Yamaha TMAX’s 7-inch screen, and the physical rotary control is way easier to use with gloves than pure touchscreen. There’s also an adjustable handlebar, motorized windscreen, and ambient lighting.

NIU stuck a TKX.LAB suspension system on this thing, which is their way of saying it’s tuned for comfort and stability. You get dual disc brakes with regenerative braking and real-time tire pressure monitoring. The seat opens itself, which sounds gimmicky until you’re carrying stuff and don’t have a free hand. There’s even a tray table for when you stop, though that’ll probably get cut before production.

The radar system works like what you’d see on a Ducati Multistrada V4 or KTM’s bigger adventure bikes. It monitors traffic, provides collision warnings, and can adjust cruise control based on the vehicle ahead. The 360-degree camera gives you a bird’s-eye view when parking or navigating tight spaces, which is useful in city centers where you’re squeezing between cars and scooters constantly.

What the AI Actually Does

NIU’s KI-Pilot system isn’t just marketing fluff. It learns how you ride and adjusts throttle response, regenerative braking strength, and warning sensitivity based on your habits. The adaptive headlights adjust beam patterns based on lean angle and speed so you can actually see around corners at night instead of staring into darkness. There’s also adaptive cruise control, hill-start assist, and push assist for moving the scooter around when it’s off. Sentry mode monitors for tampering when parked, though details on whether that ties to an app aren’t clear yet.

What This Means for the Maxi-Scooter Market

The European maxi-scooter market is massive. Yamaha’s TMAX, BMW’s C series, and Honda’s Forza models sell tens of thousands of units annually at $10,900-$16,300. These aren’t commuter scooters. People use them for serious riding. Daily highway commutes, weekend trips, year-round transportation. NIU has never competed here. Their expertise is affordable urban scooters where price is the main selling point. Moving upmarket means competing on refinement, performance, and brand prestige against companies that have been doing this for decades.

The L3e homologation category is what makes this possible. It’s technically the same classification as 125cc motorcycles, but there’s no upper power limit for electric vehicles. That’s why both the BMW CE 04 and this NIU qualify despite having power equivalent to much larger combustion engines. If NIU can hit an $8,700-$10,900 price point, they’d undercut BMW by $3,300-$5,400 while matching or exceeding specs. That’s the only realistic path into this segment. Go cheaper than established players while delivering comparable or better tech.

The 2027 timeline means they have two years to figure out if they can manufacture this profitably at that price. Some features will definitely get cut. The tray table and wireless charging are obvious candidates. But if they keep the radar, adaptive cruise, and 360-degree camera while BMW doesn’t offer those features, NIU could actually leapfrog the competition on tech.

The bigger question is whether European buyers will trust NIU in this segment. BMW has decades of brand equity. NIU has affordable city scooters. Convincing someone to spend $10,900 on a NIU instead of a BMW or Yamaha requires more than good specs. It requires proving the brand belongs in that conversation. We’ll see if they can pull it off.

More info: NIU’s Global Website