Usain bolts into the electric vehicle market

After hanging up his gold sprinting shoes in 2017, former Olympic great Usain Bolt has turned to investing in electric cars and scooters.

The 100m and 200m world record-holder from Jamaica is co-founder of a US-based company called Bolt Mobility and last week launched his Bolt Electric scooters and the Bolt Nano prototype micro car at a Paris technology show.

It's a follow-up to an electric scooter-sharing service already available in several US cities. Since its founding in 2018, the company has launched in cities across the US and plans to expand into 20 European cities in 2020.

MOTORING PODCAST | Cargumentative - How to build an Outlaw 911

For more episodes, click here. 

Subscribe: iono.fm | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Pocket Casts | Player.fm.

The scooters are ideal for a single person travelling up to 3km, says the company, but the two-seater Nano will be suited for longer city journeys of up to 25km.

The battery-powered car, called the B-Nano for short, is designed for short city trips in a car-sharing scheme. The base model is priced at $9,999 (R144,000) and will hit the roads next year.

No maximum range or top speed is specified by the company.

The tiny car has the passenger sitting behind the driver and it's claimed that four B-Nanos can fit into one regular parking space.