CSC ES5 launched as speedy seated electric scooter, taking shot at the major competition
Move over, electric Vespa. Get nervous, NIU. There’s a new seated electric scooter in town, and it’s got better performance at a lower price. Meet the CSC ES5, an electric scooter that packs in plenty of power, speed, and range without a sky-high price.
CSC Motorcycles, headquartered in southern California, is no stranger to electric motorcycles and scooters. After several decades of imports and sales of gasoline-powered motorbikes, the company began expanding its lineup into electrics back in 2018.
In the last five years, the CSC badge has graced four unique models offering everything from city commuting to highway riding. Now the CSC ES5 has become the fifth electric model offered by CSC (if you don’t count the company’s several electric bicycles).
The ES5 isn’t a slow scooter like CSC’s retro-styled Monterey, yet it isn’t a fast 80 mph (130 km/h) highway bike like the CSC RX1E either.
At 52.8 mph (85 km/h), this electric scooter splits the difference with enough speed to take riders on pretty much any road in the city. Urban highways might be within the question, though interstates aren’t likely to be a fun experience on a 52 mph scooter.
With urban commuter-level speeds, the CSC ES5 is obviously meant for daily commuting and utility riding, not pleasure cruises. But it’s still quite peppy with a 5 kW belt-driving centrally mounted motor. That’s the continuous power, too. The peak power is rated at 8 kW.
And the ride is likely to last for a while too, thanks to a set of three 60V and 31Ah lithium-ion batteries. Together, that means riders get 5.58 kWh of capacity, but divided into batteries small enough to carry inside for charging if you don’t already have a convenient garage charging option (I see you, fellow apartment dwellers!).
CSC says that the scooter’s range at a steady 31 mph (50 km/h) is around 68 miles (110 km). In my experience, CSC generally gives realistic performance figures that are often even slightly lower than what riders actually achieve in real-world conditions. It’s a nice departure from the industry standard of quoting amazing performance specs measured in a vacuum with an 80 lb. rider going full tuck in a spandex body suit.
Now if you’re cruising at the scooter’s 53 mph top speed all the time, you definitely won’t achieve that full 68 miles of range. But since very few cities are 68 miles across, you’ll probably be fine with enough range to last for a few days of riding.
With a pre-order price of US $4,995 and an MSRP of US $5,295 (not including another $410 in dealer fees), the CSC ES5 is quite favorably priced compared to the competition.
The closest comparison is likely the NIU MQi Sport Extended Range. For US $6,199, you’re getting a top speed of 43 mph (70 km/h), a motor power of 3.1 kW and a battery capacity of 4.03 kWh. Or in other words, for 15% more money, the NIU gives you 20% less speed, 28% less battery, and 38% less power.
NIU has a very nice app with excellent smart features such as GPS location, as well as a wider dealer network, but there’s no denying that the CSC ES5 is taking a major shot at the established players with serious bang for your buck.
And that’s before you consider the ES5’s other features, such as keyless start, full-color TFT instrument display, Bluetooth audio player, and built-in dash camera for recording rides (either for posterity or for legal reasons).
There’s even seating for two with a set of pillion pegs and rear grab bars, just in case your pillion happens to be another dude that needs to preserve his masculinity by not holding your waist. I tell my wife it’s safer to hold me, partly because it’s true, and partly because I like the way it feels.
Available in three colorways, the CSC ES5 is currently taking pre-orders with a fully refundable $300 deposit ahead of deliveries expected to begin later this year.
Electrek’s Take
I’m very excited to see CSC’s latest electric addition. This scooter definitely looks better than the CSC Wiz they first marketed in 2019, and it’s got better specs too.
I’m loving that mid-motor and belt drive, especially at this price. I’m not big on blasting tunes while I’m riding, but I’m sure many people will like that Bluetooth speaker.
At nearly $5,500 all-in, it’s still considerably more expensive than a cheap gasoline-powered scooter or moped. But it’s also got major advantages over a gasoline-powered scooter. Electric scooters are much cheaper in the long term, not just due to fuel savings but also with reduced maintenance and repair. You can rack up thousands and thousands of miles with the entirety of your maintenance consisting of checking tire pressure every few weeks. Then there’s the quieter operation, the lack of vibrations or heat coming off a baking engine at red lights in the summer, and of course the environmental impact of not contributing to pumping more emissions into the air. At this point it’s a toss-up about which is the more immediately dangerous part of those emissions, the carcinogens you’re breathing in or the climate changing impact that your kids will have to deal with.
I recently took a vacation trip on a cute little Honda scooter, and it reminded me why I went electric years ago – the ownership experience and ride quality are simply nicer.
So at this price, I think CSC has a compelling new bike on their hands. It may not be as much fun as the RX1E, but it’s more affordable and better suited to city rides. So for many people, this will be the attractive, approachable electric scooter to win them over.
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Credit where credit is due: in a massive, 32-car multinational independent test, Tesla’s Autopilot ADAS came out on top, the new affordable Tesla turns out to be a corner-cutting Model Y, and one of the company’s original founders compares the Cybertruck to a dumpster. All this and more on today’s episode of Quick Charge!
Today’s episode is brought to you by Retrospec – the makers of sleek, powerful e-bikes and outdoor gear built for everyday adventure! To that end, we’ve got a pair of Retrospec e-bike reviews followed up by a super cute, super affordable new EV from China with nearly 150 miles of range for less than $5,000 USD.
PLUS: listeners can get an extra 10% off by using code ELECTREK10 at retrospec.com!
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Tesla is again teasing the new Roadster, which is now five years late, as “the last driver’s car” before self-driving takes over.
The chicken or the egg. Is Tesla delaying the Roadster to match the development of self-driving technology, or is it delaying the development of self-driving technology to match the delayed release of the Roadster?
The prototype for the next-generation Tesla Roadster was first unveiled in 2017, and it was initially scheduled to enter production in 2020; however, it has been delayed every year since then.
It was supposed to achieve a range of 620 miles (1,000 km) and accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds.
It has become a sort of running joke, and there are doubts that it will ever come to market despite Tesla’s promise of dozens of free new Roadsters to Tesla owners who participated in its referral program years ago.
Tesla used the promise of free Roadsters to help generate billions of dollars worth of sales, which Tesla owners delivered; however, the automaker never delivered on its part of the agreement.
Furthermore, many people placed deposits ranging from $50,000 to $250,000 to reserve the vehicle, which was initially scheduled to hit the market five years ago.
When unveiling the vehicle, CEO Elon Musk described it as a “halo car” that would deliver a “smack down” to gasoline vehicles.
That was almost eight years ago, and many electric hypercars have since launched and delivered this smackdown.
Tesla has partly blamed the delays on improving the next-gen Roadsters and added features like the “SpaceX package,” which is supposed to include cold air thrusters to enable the vehicle to fly – Musk has hinted.
Many people don’t believe any of it, as Tesla has said that it would launch the new Roadster every year for the last 5 years and never did.
Now, Lars Moravy, Tesla’s head of vehicle engineering, made a rare new comment about the next-generation Roadster during an interview at the X Takeover event, an annual gathering of Elon Musk cultists, last weekend.
He referred to Tesla’s next-gen Roadster as the “last best driver’s car” and said that the automaker did “some cool demos” for Musk last week:
We spent a lot of time in the last few years rethinking what we did, and why we did it, and what would make an awesome and exciting last best driver’s car. We’ve been making it better and better, and it is even a little bit more than a car. We showed Elon some cool demos last week and tech we’ve been working on, and he got a little excited.
The timing matches Musk’s recent claim that Tesla is going to have ‘the most epic demo ever, ’ but we heard that one before.
We suspected that the comment might be about the Tesla Roadster, as the CEO made the exact same comment about Roadster demos in 2019 and 2024. You will not be shocked to hear that these demos never happen.
Electrek’s Take
The “last best driver’s car” before computers are going to drive us everywhere. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy if you continue to delay the car. It might literally be the last car ever made that way. How would we ever know?
The truth is that the Roadster was cool when it was unveiled in 2017, but that was a long time ago. Tesla would need to update the car quite a bit to make it cool in 2025, and I don’t know that cold air clusters are it. You will have extreme limitations using those.
The Roadster is almost entirely in the “put up or shut up” category for me at Tesla. They need to stop talking about it and make it happen; otherwise, I can’t believe a word.
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The PV5 is already available in several markets, but will Kia launch it in the US? After Kia’s electric van was spotted testing in the US again, a US debut could be in the works.
Is Kia’s electric van coming to the US?
Kia launched the PV5, the first dedicated electric van from its new Platform Beyond vehicle (PBV) business, in South Korea and Europe earlier this year, promising it will roll out in “other global markets” in 2026.
Will that include the US? Earlier this year, Kia’s electric van was caught charging at a station in Indiana. Photos and a video sent to Electrek by Alex Nguyen confirmed it was, in fact, the PV5.
Kia has yet to say if it will sell the PV5 in the US, likely due to the Trump Administration’s new auto tariffs. All electric vans, or PBVs, including the PV5, will be built at Kia’s Hwaseong plant in South Korea, which means they will face a stiff 25% tariff as imports.
Following another sighting, a US debut cannot be ruled out. The PV5 Passenger model was spotted by Automotive Validation Engineer Chris Higa (@Chrisediting) while testing in Arizona.
There’s no denying that’s Kia’s electric van, but it doesn’t necessarily confirm it will launch in the US. But it could make sense.
Despite record first-half sales in the US, Kia’s EV sales have fallen significantly. Sales of the EV9 and EV6 are nearly 50% less than in the first half of 2024.
To be fair, part of it is due to the new model year changeover, but Kia is also doubling down on the US market by boosting local production. Earlier this year, Kia said the EV6 and EV9 are now in full-scale production at its West Point, GA, facility.
The PV5 Passenger (shown above) is available in Europe with two battery pack options: 51.5 kWh or 71.2 kWh, rated with WLTP ranges of 179 miles and 249 miles, respectively. The Cargo variant has the same battery options but offers a WLTP range of either 181 miles or 247 miles.
During its PV5 Tech Day event last week, Kia revealed plans for seven PV5 body types, including an Open Bed (similar to a pickup), a Light Camper, and even a luxury “Prime” passenger model.
Kia is set to begin deliveries of the PV5 Passenger and Cargo Long variants in South Korea next month, followed by Europe and other global markets, starting in Q4 2025. As for a US launch, we will have to wait for the official word from Kia.
Do you want Kia to bring its electric van to the US? Drop us a comment below and let us know your thoughts.
Source: Chris Higa, TheKoreanCarBlog
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