Segway is ending the production of classic self-balancing Segway
Nearly 20 years ago, the Segway two-wheeled, self-balancing people transporter was unveiled on top of a mountain of hype. Now the innovative yet oft-ridiculed Segway PT is being quietly killed off by its parent company.
In a move that is, unfortunately, becoming a sign of the times, the sun is setting on yet another American-manufactured personal electric vehicle.
Another 12 employees will stay on temporarily to deal with warranty fulfillment and other matters related to previously completed Segway PT orders, according to a report from Fast Company.
The original Segway vehicle was developed by Dean Kamen and his team of engineers after inventing the initial technology for a rising and self-balancing wheelchair.
The Segway was hyped as a revolutionary technology that would quickly transform personal transportation and make cars all but obsolete for city travel.
Despite promising to sell over 100,000 Segways in the first year, it took the company well over a decade to reach that milestone. The expensive and low-speed electric vehicles simply never caught on en masse with the public.
