BMW CE 04 Expert Review
- Electric
- Bike
- 2 Seater
What's good
-
Concept-like design that turns heads wherever it goes
-
Strong, smooth acceleration, with an Eco mode that never feels strangled
-
Planted, stable chassis and suspension that absorbs most broken-road bumps
-
High-quality build, premium switchgear and a large 10.25-inch screen
-
Strong regenerative braking plus twin front discs make stopping easy
What's not so good
-
The most expensive scooter on sale in India, by a wide margin
-
A flat, firm seat offers little support and tires the rider on longer rides
-
Cornering ABS and the advanced traction control cost extra, though the cheaper C 400 GT gets both as standard
-
231 kg weight and great length make parking and U-turns a chore
-
AC-only charging, limited storage and a small, metro-focused dealer network
The BMW CE 04 is a flagship electric scooter from the German manufacturer to be launched in India. It is a one-of-a-kind step through scooter in the Indian market, with exciting performance and a massive 8.5kWh battery pack.
What's good
-
Concept-like design that turns heads wherever it goes
-
Strong, smooth acceleration, with an Eco mode that never feels strangled
-
Planted, stable chassis and suspension that absorbs most broken-road bumps
-
High-quality build, premium switchgear and a large 10.25-inch screen
-
Strong regenerative braking plus twin front discs make stopping easy
What's not so good
-
The most expensive scooter on sale in India, by a wide margin
-
A flat, firm seat offers little support and tires the rider on longer rides
-
Cornering ABS and the advanced traction control cost extra, though the cheaper C 400 GT gets both as standard
-
231 kg weight and great length make parking and U-turns a chore
-
AC-only charging, limited storage and a small, metro-focused dealer network
The BMW CE 04 is a flagship electric scooter from the German manufacturer to be launched in India. It is a one-of-a-kind step through scooter in the Indian market, with exciting performance and a massive 8.5kWh battery pack.
BMW CE 04 Expert Review
SEV Score
Samarth Kudale
Tested and reviewed by SEV Experts on 8 parameters
SEV Score
Samarth Kudale
Tested and reviewed by SEV Experts on 8 parameters
Expert Verdict
The BMW CE 04 is a fully imported model and is still the most expensive scooter on sale in the country. For its price tag, the CE 04 is quite a head-turner with its sci-fi-inspired design. Also, its strong and refined performance and the build quality are just as you’d expect from a BMW. It’s a niche choice for someone who wants a radical-looking machine and is more of a lifestyle vehicle rather than a practical one.
BMW CE 04 Design
Exterior
Few production two-wheelers look as much like a concept as the CE 04 does. The body is long and low, made of large flat panels cut by sharp creases, and the front splits into twin LED headlamps beneath a short windscreen. The seat appears to float above the bodywork rather than sit on it, and the 15-inch wheels have flat, disc-like faces that add to the design-study look. At the back, the bodywork stops short and leaves the motor housing and single-sided swingarm on show, a motorcycle-style touch that sets it apart from conventional scooters. Even the side stand has been styled into the bodywork.
The proportions are the most striking part. To fit the battery into the floor, BMW has stretched the wheelbase to a length that exceeds many large motorcycles (it’s 195 mm longer than even the Hayabusa), and in profile the CE 04 looks closer to a jet ski or a prop from a science-fiction film than a maxi-scooter. It draws people in wherever it is parked, and conversations with strangers become part of ownership. Buyers who would rather blend in should look elsewhere.
The Style Avantgarde sharpens the look further with a tinted windscreen, its own seat with a contrasting accent and an exclusive paint finish.
Build Quality & Fit and Finish
Underneath, a one-piece tub ular steel main frame carries the battery low in the floor, with the motor mounted between the battery and the rear wheel and the drive built into the swingarm.
Quality matches the price. Panels line up neatly, the plastics feel dense and well finished, and small details have clearly been considered. The switchgear, including the rotary controller on the left grip used to scroll through the screen’s menus, comes from BMW’s larger motorcycles and has the same solid, precise action. The keyless system and the button-released storage compartments complete the impression of a premium product built to a standard.
BMW CE 04 Features
The centrepiece is a 10.25-inch colour TFT screen that can split its display between riding data and map navigation from a paired smartphone, connected over Bluetooth. It is large and crisp, and it gives the cockpit much of its high-end feel. Menus are worked through the rotary controller on the left grip, the same system used on BMW’s bigger motorcycles. It takes a little time to learn, but once familiar, it lets you change screens and settings without taking a hand off the bar.
Standard equipment is generous by scooter standards. Keyless operation covers the ignition and the storage compartments, which lock themselves once you walk away with the key. An electronic reverse function helps ease the heavy scooter out of a parking spot, and the side stand applies a parking brake when lowered, so the CE 04 won’t roll on a slope. There are three riding modes called Eco, Rain and Road, tyre pressure monitoring, adjustable brake levers, an electronic immobiliser, all-LED lighting with a welcome light function, a main stand and a 12 V socket. A ventilated, splash-proof compartment under the handlebar holds a phone and charges it on the move.
Two option packs extend the list. The comfort pack adds heated grips and a seat with a built-in backrest. The dynamic pack adds a sharper fourth riding mode with more advanced traction control, cornering-capable ABS, an adaptive headlight that lights up the inside of a bend, and daytime running lights. These packs apply to both the Standard and the Style Avantgarde.
The list is long, but the way BMW splits it is the CE 04’s weak point. The petrol C 400 GT, which sits a few lakh below it in BMW’s own range, gets cornering ABS and the more advanced traction control as standard, along with a screen of the same size. On the CE 04, buyers already paying more still have to pay extra for that safety tech.
BMW CE 04 Performance & Range
The CE 04 uses a permanent-magnet, liquid-cooled synchronous motor rated at 31 kW (42 hp) at 4,900 rpm and 62 Nm at 1,500 rpm, drawing on an 8.5 kWh battery with its own central cooling. BMW claims 0 to 50 km/h in 2.6 seconds, and top speed is electronically limited to 120 km/h.
On the road, those figures turn into a strong, uninterrupted surge. There is no gearbox and no CVT to wind up, so the scooter pulls away from a signal the instant the throttle opens, and the shove carries on well beyond city speeds. 80 km/h comes up briskly, and 100 km/h follows soon after, which makes climbing a flyover or joining an expressway effortless. The pull eases as the scooter nears its limiter, but by then it is travelling faster than most city riding will ever need.
The riding modes are well judged. Eco, unlike the speed-capped economy settings on many electric scooters, still reaches the full top speed and simply softens the response, and even here there is enough in reserve to slot into a closing gap or overtake a bus without fuss. Road is the best all-round setting, livelier off the line and with the most natural balance of acceleration and regenerative braking. Rain dials everything back for slippery surfaces. The sharper fourth mode in the optional dynamic pack adds the most aggressive response, though the standard modes are quick enough that few owners will feel short-changed without it.
Closing the throttle brings in regenerative braking that is strong in most modes, strong enough that the first few days call for recalibrating how early you roll off before a stop. Once that adjustment is made; most everyday slowing happens without touching the levers, which takes much of the effort out of stop-go traffic.
BMW’s claimed WMTC range is 130 km, with consumption rated at 7.7 kWh per 100 km. That figure holds up in daily use: mixed city riding gets close to it, and gentle riding in Eco can stretch it further. The figure is modest for a battery of this size, because the CE 04 carries far more weight and performance than mainstream electric scooters.
BMW CE 04 Ride & Handling
The 780 mm seat height is low enough for most riders to plant both feet at a stop, and the handlebar falls easily to hand. The floorboard runs long, so you can stretch your legs forward maxi-scooter style or keep them in a more upright, neutral position.
The seat is where the CE 04’s design wins over comfort. It is flat, firm and shaped as a slab (more like a bench in the gym), with no step or ridge for the rider to brace against. On short city errands and typical commutes, it is fine. Under hard acceleration, though, the motor’s shove has to be resisted with the arms and core, and over longer stints the firmness builds up steadily, so the CE 04 is not a scooter that encourages long highway days or touring. The optional comfort pack seat adds a backrest that addresses the bracing problem, at an extra cost and with a slightly taller perch.
Over broken city roads, the suspension does a better job than the firm-looking setup suggests. Ruts, patchwork and undulations are smoothed out well, and only the sharpest potholes and expansion joints thump through to the rider. Ground clearance handles most speed breakers without scraping when they are taken at a sensible pace.
Weight is the bigger city issue. At 231 kg, the CE 04 takes considerable effort to pull off its main stand or push around a car park, and its length means a U-turn needs far more road than a typical scooter does. However, once the scooter is rolling, the weight fades quickly, because so much of it sits low in the floor.
On open roads, the long wheelbase gives the CE 04 a planted, motorcycle-like stability. It tracks straight at speed and stays composed over mid-corner bumps. The steering takes a short adjustment period because of the scooter’s length, but once you’re used to it, the CE 04 turns into corners with little effort and holds its line with a reassuring, settled feel. It won’t flick from side to side like a smaller scooter, and a string of tight bends calls for deliberate inputs, but the stability builds confidence quickly.
Braking comes from twin discs at the front and a single disc at the rear, with ABS. Combined with the strong regeneration, stopping is quick, predictable and reassuring.
BMW CE 04 Safety
The standard safety kit covers the essentials. ABS works on both wheels, and traction control trims power when the rear tyre starts to spin. Rain mode softens both the throttle response and the regenerative braking for slippery conditions, tyre pressure monitoring flags a slow puncture before it turns into a problem, and the side-stand parking brake stops the heavy scooter from rolling away on a slope.
What the standard CE 04 lacks is lean-sensitive electronics. Cornering-capable ABS and the more sophisticated traction control both sit in the optional dynamic pack. On a scooter this quick and this heavy, cornering ABS is a meaningful item on the options list, and buyers should budget for the pack.
BMW CE 04 Space & Comfort
There is no conventional underseat boot, because the CE 04’s seat is fixed. Instead, a compartment beneath the seat swings out towards the side at the press of a button, and it has its own interior light for finding things at night. BMW intends it to hold a helmet. Compact full-face helmets go in, but larger ones may not. The compartment also takes the charging cable, and with a helmet inside, there is little room left over.
Up front, the ventilated, splash-proof phone compartment under the handlebar takes a phone and a wallet, and beyond these two spaces there is nowhere else to stow things. BMW’s own C 400 GT, with its large underseat boot and front compartments, is far better at carrying everyday clutter.
BMW CE 04 Charging & Warranty
The charger is built into the scooter, so charging at home only needs the supplied cable and a suitable socket. It is rated at 2.3 kW, and BMW claims 3 hours 30 minutes to go from 0 to 80 per cent.
The charging socket, hidden in a compartment on the right of the scooter, is the same car-type connector used by electric cars. That means the CE 04 can plug into public AC charging points meant for cars, which widens the places it can top up. The catch is speed. Because the onboard charger is rated at 2.3 kW, a public AC point charges no faster than a home socket does, and BMW lists no DC fast-charging capability. A meaningful top-up on the move still takes hours, not minutes, and combined with the 130 km range, that rules out long trips.
BMW covers the CE 04 with a three-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, which can be extended to a fourth and fifth year at extra cost, and BMW offers a round-the-clock roadside assistance package.
BMW CE 04 Service & Network
The CE 04 is sold and serviced through BMW Motorrad’s own dealer network, which remains concentrated in India’s larger cities.
The electric drivetrain does cut routine upkeep. There is no engine oil, filter or spark plug to replace. Scheduled visits should be shorter and simpler than on BMW’s petrol models.
The flip side of a fully imported model is parts. Body panels and components that dealers don’t routinely stock can take time to arrive after a fall, and replacement costs would reflect the scooter’s price. The platform itself is mature, having been on sale internationally since 2022, which lowers the risk of early teething problems.
Who should buy this?
The CE 04 is a niche choice for wealthy urban buyers who want a style statement for city duties, and it should be judged on those terms and nothing more. It makes the most sense for someone who wants a two-wheeler that stands out like few others on the street, has a dedicated charging point where they park, and will use it mainly for short trips across town. For that buyer, it delivers on its promise: it gets noticed everywhere, pulls hard from every signal and feels properly premium. In most cases it will be an addition to a garage rather than someone’s only vehicle.
It is not a scooter for touring or long highway days. The flat, firm seat tires the rider over longer stints; the 130 km range and hours-long AC charging rule out spontaneous trips; and storage is limited. Buyers who want a BMW for the city can get much of the same urban appeal in the CE 02 for about a third of the price. Riders of a tech-heavy electric scooter on a sensible budget should look at the TVS X today or wait for Ultraviolette’s Tesseract, which is due in early 2027.
What's good
-
Concept-like design that turns heads wherever it goes
-
Strong, smooth acceleration, with an Eco mode that never feels strangled
-
Planted, stable chassis and suspension that absorbs most broken-road bumps
-
High-quality build, premium switchgear and a large 10.25-inch screen
-
Strong regenerative braking plus twin front discs make stopping easy
What's not so good
-
The most expensive scooter on sale in India, by a wide margin
-
A flat, firm seat offers little support and tires the rider on longer rides
-
Cornering ABS and the advanced traction control cost extra, though the cheaper C 400 GT gets both as standard
-
231 kg weight and great length make parking and U-turns a chore
-
AC-only charging, limited storage and a small, metro-focused dealer network
BMW CE 04 Price
What's good
-
Concept-like design that turns heads wherever it goes
-
Strong, smooth acceleration, with an Eco mode that never feels strangled
-
Planted, stable chassis and suspension that absorbs most broken-road bumps
-
High-quality build, premium switchgear and a large 10.25-inch screen
-
Strong regenerative braking plus twin front discs make stopping easy
What's not so good
-
The most expensive scooter on sale in India, by a wide margin
-
A flat, firm seat offers little support and tires the rider on longer rides
-
Cornering ABS and the advanced traction control cost extra, though the cheaper C 400 GT gets both as standard
-
231 kg weight and great length make parking and U-turns a chore
-
AC-only charging, limited storage and a small, metro-focused dealer network
250Km/c
120Kmph
N/AHrs
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