Interview with Tom Foster, Founder at E-Scooter Company: Volter

Volter is the e-mobility brand for young trendsetters. Our riders are saying no to traditional transport methods and yes to looking after the world around us..

Currently, the e-mobility market is dominated by brands that don’t represent young Millenials and Gen Z, who prefer to buy from brands that represent their views and ideals.

We’re here to break that mould and provide a home for the stylish and eco-conscious city-dweller. Community and sustainability are at the heart of our business. There is an essential need for cities to go green, and public transport doesn’t provide the flexibility that your own electric vehicle does. We’re here to offer people a truly green mode of transport.
 
 

 

How did you come up with the idea for the company?

 
I was on holiday in 2018 with my (soon to be) wife and I remember getting on a rental scooter for the first time, they were such fun and an amazing way to move around a city. I remember saying to myself that these funny 2 wheeled rental scooters are the future. However, when I got home I looked at my bank account and soon realised that with the cost of rental scooters I may as well get a taxi!

After looking for my own scooter in the UK I struggled to find a brand that I would be able to trust, and that I would look good on. It seemed silly to me that design didn’t seem to be at the heart of any scooters.

It’s my dream to see fewer cars on the street, but I believe the rental scooters will not be the answer.
 

How has the company evolved during the pandemic?

 
Volter was born out of the pandemic. My previous business stopped dead in its tracks at the beginning of the first lockdown. I was faced with a very long wait for the world to return to normal or to pivot very quickly into another market.

The e-mobility industry has really accelerated because of the pandemic and that’s really exciting. People are looking for a more sustainable, hassle free and hygienic way to travel and e-scooters tick all those boxes. The industry is very new in the UK and is really just getting started, we are expecting to see strong sales this summer and even stronger in 2022 when we expect UK legislation to change to allow the use of e-scooters on the roads.

It has certainly not been without its challenges, not being able to travel has been extremely difficult. We have a truly global supply chain with suppliers in Europe and Asia and so far I have met none of these people face to face. Zoom has certainly been our friend.

We’ve done the entire design process in the UK, and tested prototypes at each stage of design. Let’s just say that some of the early ones took more of a beating than they were ready for! The global shipping crisis which still plagues us has also been extremely difficult, we have waited weeks and often months to get products shipped which has really slowed down the development of the business.
 

What can we hope to see from Volter in the future?

 
We’re just getting started! We have just launched the S1 and sales have been fantastic but the future is full of really exciting milestones. We are launching our own helmet and rain jacket later this year but what I am most excited about is the S2 which is currently in development and being prototyped by our manufacturing partner in Italy.

We can’t say much about it at the moment, but it will be a game-changer in the e-scooter world with fantastic durability, build quality and industry-leading safety features with motorbike quality disc brakes and 12inch tyres; making it one of the safest e-scooters out there. Watch this space…