“We get a lot of feedback and the more we get the better,” says VMAX USA Chief Operating Officer Yoav Dreifuss.
And the Swiss e-scooter brand has had its fair share. Earlier this year the influencer and review site Freshly Charged deducted points from VMAX’s scooters for their top speed and price.
So what did VMAX do? Increased the top speed and reduced prices by 20% within a few weeks.
“It’s so important that our riders are taken seriously,” says Yoav. “It’s key to be agile, adjust quickly, and not wait too long once the feedback comes in. Whether we get inputs from industry experts or from someone taking our scooter for a test ride – we try to listen to everyone.”
Having built its own factory, VMAX has the ability to act quickly on customer feedback. Its in-house designers, engineers, and product managers can immediately get to work on making the improvements and sending the scooters back out on the road again.
“We know that not every brand is able to implement changes quickly which is understandable. But in our case we have the advantage that the factory is part of our company so we can prioritise this and don’t need to wait for a third party supplier to make the changes for us.”
That’s what’s happening right now with the brand’s flagship e-scooter, the VX4, which is said to have a trickier folding mechanism compared to another popular e-scooter from the Swiss company, the VX2 Pro.
Yoav explains that the VX4, not designed to be lifted up, can sometimes unlatch when it is picked up. “Our product engineers are devising a solution as we speak to rectify this,” he says.
One customers take on the VX4
A quick Google search of the VX4 offers up various reviews of the ins and outs of the scooter that’s designed to do…”well, everything”.
With 100 kilometres (62 miles) of range, full suspension, and a 1,600-watt peak power motor that catapults the rider up inclines of 33% – VMAX has designed the VX4 to be fit for purpose whether this is commuting city roads or galavanting rocky trails.
Zag got in touch with one reviewer from The Readyist to get their take on the model.
Zag: What was the main selling point of the VX4 for you?
The Readyist: “It’s a very well-rounded scooter that has a lot of thought put into its main features. I felt that the other scooters I was looking at were missing one thing or another, like maybe they weren’t UL-certified like the VX4, or they didn’t have suspension or a good waterproof rating. UL certification was a must for me because battery fires are a real concern. The VX4 can also go up hills at speed, it has suspension and pneumatic tires for a smooth ride, and it has an IPX6 water resistance. It’s a hard full-package to find in pretty much any other e-scooter.”
Zag: What prompted you to write your in-depth review of the VX4?
The Readyist: “I’m interested in all forms of mobility other than cars. When I got a new job, I considered getting a bike or a scooter instead of walking the 45 minutes to work each day. I wanted something that would easily fit in my small apartment and that could slot under my desk at work so I wouldn’t need to lock it up outside. When I came across VMAX, I didn’t see many reviews on its US models, so I wanted to get my experience out there for anyone else who is doing scooter research and stumbles across the VX4. Most people need useful information before pulling the trigger and spending hundreds of dollars on the scooter they settle on.”
Zag: Did you use other scooters before the VX4?
The Readyist: “I’d been using shared scooters like Lime and Bird for about six months and after riding those I had an idea of what I wanted when purchasing my own scooter. I made the switch because it’s a lot nicer to know that your scooter is going to be there in the morning as opposed to ‘oops, the closest one is 10 blocks away and I must be at work in 20 minutes’. Then it’s also great having a scooter that can go faster and has more power, because the Lime scooters can’t actually go up steep paths here in Seattle. You end up having to kick them up these giant hills at about two miles per hour. With the VX4, I can ride up the steepest hills on my commute at around 10 miles per hour.”
Zag: What would you like to see VMAX do next?
The Readyist: “Interesting question. Overall, VMAX has a good offering, and its products span a broad price range depending on what customers they’re targeting. They have scooters made for shorter distances and lower speeds all the way up to scooters made for racing. I probably don’t feel the need for a faster model. There are also new battery technologies emerging these days such as using lithium-ion phosphate which tends to hold charge longer for people that might not use their scooter very regularly. For me, charge isn’t a problem because I get home on about 75% battery and then charge for up to two hours each day, so I’d just like to see VMAX continuing to evolve with newer technologies such as adding new features to the software as the company has got the big points nailed.”
