Timeline: Segway’s journey from Good Morning America to China

December 2001
Dean Kamen, a US inventor, unveils his Segway Personal Transporter, which he dubs the world’s first electric, two-wheeled, self-balancing transportation device on Good Morning America.

2002
The company encounters problems before launch as some local municipalities in the US question the safety of the two-wheeler mixing with pedestrians and ban them from sidewalks. But there is good news too as the US post office tests Segway for delivering mail, while the Walt Disney Company buys some for use in its theme parks. The first Segway goes on sale to the public on Amazon for $4,950 in November.

What’s in a name?

Segway, derived from the Italian word segue, means to transition smoothly from one state to another. When the product was launched, Mr Kamen said the Segway “will be to the car what the car was to the horse and buggy”.
He predicted sales of 50,000 machines in the first year alone, while John Doerr of venture capitalist Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, one of the company’s early backers, said Segway sales would hit $1bn faster than any company in the history.

2003
Segway makes headlines for the wrong reasons as US president George W Bush falls off the “human transporter” at his family estate in Kennebunkport, Maine.

September 2003
All 6,000 machines sold so far are recalled as customer complaints mount that the device becomes unstable when its battery runs low, resulting in riders falling off.

2004
Segway runs out of money and Mr Kamen raises $31m in fresh funding and mortgages the factory, while losses continue to mount.

2006
Segway issues a second recall on all 23,500 transporters sold because of a software glitch that causes machines to unexpectedly change direction.

December 2009
James Norrod, the chief executive, leaves. Segway is acquired by James Heselden, a British entrepreneur.

September 2010
Mr Heselden dies in a freak accident when a cross-country version of the Segway he was riding plunges off cliff. His body was recovered from the river Wharfe near his estate in Boston Spa, near Leeds, Yorkshire.

January 2011
The first UK citizen is prosecuted for riding a Segway on the pavement. Philip Coates, who had picked up the scooter for £5,000 after trying out one during a holiday in Florida, was fined for using a “motor vehicle” on a pavement in Barnsley.

2013
Segway is acquired by Summit Strategic Investments for an undisclosed amount.

2014
The company files a complaint with the US International Trade Commission, accusing a number of companies, including Ninebot, of infringing its copyright.

April 2015
Chinese company Ninebot buys Segway for an undisclosed sum.