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After teasing us with some sketches of the MINI Scooter E Concept before the Paris Motor Show, MINI has finally taken the wraps off its two-wheeled excursion. Showing a variety of flavors, MINI has tried to synthesize the unique elements of its automobile brand into scooter form with the MINI Scooter E Concept. Styling and features come straight from the cars, although they don’t share a common parts bin, while the general ethos remains: an individualistic, yet practical, form of transportation that has the urban commuter in mind.

The important part about the MINI Scooter E Concept though isn’t its fun styling or urban-hipster appeal, but instead the fact that OEM’s are coming out of their holes after weathering the recession’s storm, and getting serious about electrics and electric motorcycles. The fact that a small automobile manufacturer is considering an electric two-wheeled vehicle should send a message to the traditional motorcycle OEM’s and electric startups alike.

BMW subsidiary MINI is set to debut an electric scooter concept at the Paris Motor Show later this year in October. Dubbed the MINI E Scooter Concept, the bike will likely be shown along with MINI’s rumored electric car, or MINI E Concept, which has been testing in New York and Los Angeles. The pairing of electric cars with electric scooters is becoming the go-to strategy for the German automakers, as Mercedes-Benz is expected to unveil an electric scooter along with an all electric car at the Paris Motor Show, both under the company’s Smart brand.

Available in Japan this December, Honda has announced it’s first electric two-wheeler: the EV-neo.

An electric scooter with under 20 miles of range (30km according to Honda), the EV-neo is pitched as an urban business scooter. It takes only four hours to charge the EV-neo’s Toshiba sourced Li ion batteries with a 100 volt source (an 80% charge can be achieved within 20 minutes if a 220 volt source is used!).

While electric scooters are certainly nothing new, and not likely to be of hugest interest to hardcore riders in the United States, what’s really compelling by the EV-neo is the fact that owners will have to lease the scooter, instead of outright buying it.