Oscar Morgan: Designing luxury e-scooters

BO was founded in 2019 by former Williams F1 Advanced Engineering and Jaguar Land Rover designers and exists to empower the transition out from cars. The company is working to create category-defining performance vehicles in the automotive sector. Through innovative and imaginative design, BO were able to unlock the potential in new vehicle categories. Building on the founders’ experience in the automotive industry, the company is building a vision that moves away from more traffic, high costs and pollution – to a future based on modern, light transport solutions that will never compromise on technology, comfort or design. MOVE was joined by Oscar Morgan, CEO of BO. Within this interview, Oscar talks about the unique design ideas of BO e-scooters and what we can expect to hear from them at MOVE 2023. Q: For those who may not know, tell us about bo Mobility and what you do.

BO takes everything we experienced working in Formula One Advanced Engineering and luxury automotive design, and deploys it to create the world’s finest electric commuter vehicles. Our first vehicle [BO M] is based on the same basic layout as an e-scooter, and is designed to combine the quality of experience you expect from a full size EV with complete immunity from city traffic.

Q: What inspired the idea to create luxury e-scooters?

Two things: firstly we discovered that this was the most efficient powered vehicle ever invented. Alongside this, we were able to experience the rental scooters for ourselves in European cities. The contrast of how much potential these vehicles clearly have, with how much we hated them and hated the riding experience, inspired us to create something better. Our working lives prior to BO had been spent creating category-defining vehicles, and so it was natural to look for ways to create the best ride possible.

Q: Your e-scooters feature some amazing innovative tech such as Safesteer, Air deck, and most recently Lock and Load. Since their introduction, has customer uptake been higher? What impact have they had on the e-scooter experience?

The aim for BO is to package all the fun and desirability of a motorbike into something completely safe, ultra convenient and really enjoyable to use. Lock and Load is (interestingly) the feature that consumers talk most about, as security is a real concern in cities. There is no question that integrating so many unique and novel features into the vehicle has generated more awareness than we could have ever expected.

Q: What can we expect to see from bo mobility in the next 12-18 months?

BO is entirely focused on first customer deliveries and ensuring that the folks who have trusted us to deliver them a vehicle have a great experience. That includes making ourselves more accessible, our earliest pre-order holders have my direct email and we are working hard to communicate as much of the company’s activities as possible. Beyond that, the pipeline of transport products that we are developing extends well into the distance.

Q: What can we expect to hear from you at MOVE 2023?

For us, the biggest concern is that people will miss out on an incredibly efficient and entertaining mode of transport because of the pre-conceptions around this vehicle type.

We are users, so I know first hand it really is the most fun I have ever had crossing the city. So from me, the message will be a call to try going for a ride – on a BO if at all possible! See how it improves your day, then imagine how it could improve the future.