According to Klee Kleber, Segway’s vice president for marketing, the new models have a technology called LeanSteer, which enables the vehicle to intuit whether the rider wants to go left or right.

Image The Segway i2 model, which the rider can turn by leaning. Credit... Segway

“We’ve taken that last piece of conventional user experience” — a steering wheel — and “replaced it with the magic that existed elsewhere in the product,” said Mr. Kleber. In its first incarnation, Segway had movement controls for backward and forward only. Now, he said, the riding experience is “very fluid. You lean whichever direction you want to go.”

The new Segways also come with a wireless controller, resembling a big digital watch, that allows a user to turn the vehicle on from a distance. In addition to keeping tabs on a rider’s speed and mileage, the device has an alarm that notifies the owner when someone else steps on the vehicle. “It would beep or squawk,” Mr. Kleber said.

Though Segway, which is privately held, does not disclose exact sales figures, Mr. Kleber said sales had climbed about 50 percent a year, with “tens of thousands” of vehicles sold around the world. He noted that 40 percent of sales had been to commercial buyers, including tour guide companies and police departments.

Despite the Segway’s environmental benefits, getting individuals to buy the vehicle remains a challenge, said Mr. Kleber.