BMW Definition CE-04 To Be Unveiled Worldwide In July 2021

Well, that didn’t take long! On June 9, 2021, we shared some spy shots of what appeared to be the near-production BMW Definition CE-04 electric scooter. To be fair, we’ve had good reason throughout 2021 to believe that this rather radical departure from the rest of the BMW Motorrad family would be coming sooner rather than later. Design documents filed with the European Intellectual Property Office in February aren’t guarantees, of course, but they definitely seemed like potential road signs in this case. 

It turns out that BMW Motorrad isn’t going to let the world go all summer without seeing the Definition CE-04 in its final form. On July 7, 2021, the company is hosting a worldwide reveal of its new electric scooter via Facebook Live. The event is called The Silent Revolution – #PluggedToLife. The nice thing about this era of virtual unveilings is, anyone in the world can attend as long as you can access the right platform at the right time.  

Unlike some teasers, our Bavarian friends opted not to play coy about this one. The accompanying teaser video posted on Facebook makes the vehicle they’re planning to unveil very clear, with no real way to mistake it for any other model. For those unfamiliar, the Definition CE-04 started life as the BMW Concept Link, an electric scooter concept first revealed in 2017. Interestingly, it seems to have retained most of that extremely unique design to evolve into the production version we’re about to see on July 7. 

 

We’re excited to learn more details about the Definition CE-04, particularly since it’s unlike anything else that BMW Motorrad has produced so far. The company’s previous electric scooter, the C-Evolution, bore a striking family resemblance to the other C-series scooters—to the point where you’d be hard-pressed to pick the electric one out of a simple visual lineup of all the models side-by-side. Opinions will likely be divided on the Definition CE-04’s design qualities—but no matter what else you can say about it, it most definitely stands out in a crowd.  

Since it appears to be built more along the lines of a maxi-scooter, it will be of particular interest to see what the storage capacity is in the sliding cubby located underneath the seat. One problem that seems particularly unfortunate in many current-generation electric scooter designs is a lack of onboard storage. Most combustion scooters have at least some onboard storage available, and maxi-scooters of course have quite a lot, since they have more real estate to begin with. Scooter buyers in general tend to want simple transportation, but maxi-scooter buyers usually also want to be able to carry things without installing extra luggage. 

Will the July 7 reveal also showcase the special BMW clothing designed to pair with this scooter to make commuters more visible out on the road? We’ll all have to tune in to find out.