Unagi goes all in on subscriptions, scraps premium Eleven model

The future of e-scooters is subscription-based, or at least that’s what Unagi thinks. The mobility company is heavily leaning into its existing subscription model for its new e-scooters, as evidenced by the reveal of its latest Model One Voyager and the cancellation of its Model Eleven, which was crowdfunded via Indiegogo.

Unagi unveiled the Model One Voyager, which is an upgraded version of the company’s first e-scooter. The company is calling the Model One Voyager its first smart scooter, and will offer it for a monthly fee of $67.

On the other hand, Unagi is sunsetting the work behind its Model Eleven project, which it previously dubbed “the smartest scooter on Earth.” Unagi explained in an email that it was seeing more success with its subscription model compared to traditional sales. The Model Eleven would have been too prohibitively expensive as a subscription model, so Unagi decided to scrap it altogether.

Scooter subscription — Unagi is heavily promoting its subscription model, which almost feels like a lease.

For those who are interested, the Model One Voyager has a decent amount of upgrades compared to its predecessor. The upcoming e-scooter will have a 14- to 20-mile range, higher torque at 32Nm, and more peak power at 1000W. Unagi also bumped up the acceleration and improved the braking for the Model One Voyager, which can also climb steeper hills for longer distances.

The Model One Voyager’s app compatibility makes it a “smart scooter,” since the app can give you scooter status and configuration details, app-based lock and unlock, and account management.

Externally, the Model One Voyager is not too much different from the Model One. It similarly has a one-click fold design, puncture proof tires, and is built with carbon fiber, magnesium, and aluminum. The only real visual difference is that the Voyager model is 8 millimeters wider at the base.

Back to square one — As for the Model Eleven being canceled, any backers can choose to either do a refund, a three-year subscription to the Model One Voyager where you’ll get it a month earlier than the official release, or two Voyager scooters to own. As a consolation prize, Unagi did note that some of the tech developed for Model Eleven would trickle down into future products.

As we mentioned, the Model One Voyager will come at a $67 per month subscription with a one-time $50 set-up fee. The subscription includes free shipping, free maintenance, and theft insurance. Thankfully, there’s still the option to just straight up buy the Model One Voyager for $1,190.

The Model One Voyager will be out in December and will be available in Deep Cobalt, Cool Mist, Matte Black and Latte. Unagi is also updating the Model One’s pricing model to $55 per month, now including theft insurance, whereas it was previously $49 a month with no theft insurance.

The subscription model may be working for Unagi, but we’re not entirely sold on the subscription mode, especially when there are cheaper options out there with similar specs. Maybe this is the future for e-scooters and Unagi is just setting the trend, but we can’t turn everything into a subscription, can we?