Lee Iacocca, former chairman of Chrysler Corp., said that electric-powered bicycles will be on the market by June 1998. The bikes will be powered by electric motors and electric controls manufactured by Unique Mobility Inc., Golden, Colo., aboard frames produced by Giant Bicycle of Taiwan.
Iacocca spoke about his bike plans before a Unique Mobility shareholders meeting. His company, EV Global Motors of Los Angeles, holds a 12% stake in Unique Mobility and has been developing electric-powered-vehicle prototypes. The former auto-industry icon prophesied that if just 10% of new bikes sold in the U.S. went to electric power, a new market of 1 million products would exist.