Current Motor Co. lays groundwork for scooter production

Beta is a word commonly used with Internet start-ups, but it's a word that's en vogue with one automotive start-up, Current Motor Co.

The Ann Arbor-based firm finished testing its pilot electric scooters earlier this year and is now in the final stages of developing its Beta bike. The three-year-old start-up hopes to begin mass producing the scooters later this year and with an eye for a market break-out in 2012. The company also plans to announce some key partnerships that will boost sales and production in the coming weeks.

"We have made major strides this year," says Lauren Flanagan, executive chair of Current Motor Co.

Current Motor Co., started by local environmentalists and tinkerers John Harding and Erik Kauppi, received a fresh round of funding earlier this year from BELLE Capital. It expects to finish raising that round of seed capital later this year and use it to enable mass production. Flanagan expects her company to flirt with profitability within the 12 months.

"We expect rapid growth next year," Flanagan says.

Source: Lauren Flanagan, executive chair of Current Motor Co.
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.