In the short distance transportation dominated by two wheeled vehicles, the wave of electrification is also emerging globally. From the familiar "little electric donkey" in China to the more popular electric bicycles and motorcycles in overseas markets, with favorable policies and rising demand, the replacement and improvement of traditional transportation modes by two wheeled electric vehicles are taking place.
This has also made the electric bicycle Ebike one of the startup star tracks in the past two years. Under the epidemic, there is a strong demand for short distance travel, and the concentration of emerging brands on the track is not high. They are also high priced products with Europe and America as the main markets, which have considerable market imagination space. Under multiple halos, star startups have emerged, such as VanMoof and Cowboy in Europe, Rad Power and Super73 in the United States, Aventon, TENWAYS, and Onemile in China, all of which are equally impressive in terms of financing scale and investor list.
But as companies emerge in clusters, problems in the race track are also emerging. VanMoof, a Dutch Ebike brand, is one of Ebike's top brands and is known as the "Tesla of the two wheelers". With a total financing of over 200 million US dollars, it is the Ebike brand that has received the most financing. However, VanMoof's strong capital background did not prevent it from falling into trouble this year, with delivery and after-sales issues. It declared bankruptcy in August and was later acquired by Lavoie for reportedly tens of millions of dollars.
However, the industry has not completely cooled down. According to recent reports from 36Kr, DJI has also initiated plans to enter the Ebike industry, positioning itself as a high-end vehicle and sports off-road scenario, and is currently developing its own Ebike system. This year, there have also been large-scale financing events in the upstream and downstream of the industry, such as VELOTRIC announcing the completion of a 10 million level A+round of financing, TENWAYS receiving a 300 million yuan A round of financing, Onemile completing nearly 50 million yuan Pre-B round of financing, and Obike's upstream core component Okawa Dachuan Electric completing over 100 million yuan of financing.
There are differences in the segmented tracks of two wheeled electric vehicles going global, but they also face some common challenges and advantages. For example, policies in overseas markets are a double-edged sword. On the one hand, subsidies and benefits for new energy products promote market growth, and on the other hand, various tariffs and anti-dumping duties can also change the competitive landscape of a single market at any time.
But compared to other industries, new energy still provides a certain growth rate and opportunities. Like electric vehicles, the supply chain of two wheeled electric vehicles is concentrated in China. Transferring the advantages of new energy upstream to downstream is likely to lead to high-quality overseas brands and two rounds of Tesla.
At the same time, new energy is also an excellent opportunity for Chinese companies to unite and go global. From upstream supply chains to downstream brands, charging and swapping infrastructure, and even payment service providers, there are opportunities to further open up overseas markets with this trend.
Zang Zhongtang, Senior Vice President of Nenglian, said, "Chinese new energy enterprises should unite when going global. For example, when we provide charging solutions for new energy electric vehicles, we must also follow new energy brands. Wherever customers go, we will go. With the launch of two wheeled electric vehicles, if the charging station function can be connected, it can charge both four wheeled and two wheeled vehicles, which will also be a great demand."
For example, payment services. Currently, the integration of overseas local payment channels and cross-border fund management are still pain points for overseas enterprises. Several overseas brand enterprises have mentioned this in their exchanges with 36Kr overseas.
"Including Ebike companies, if companies want to explore online DTC channels in different markets, such as independent websites, they need to cater to fragmented and localized payment methods, solve the collection risks of high unit price products, difficulties in opening accounts for overseas entities, and fund redemption risks, and improve conversion and operational efficiency while protecting user privacy and security. Ant International is also committed to providing payment solutions for these links for Chinese enterprises' overseas expansion."
According to Ant International, in response to the pain points faced by overseas enterprises, Ant has provided solutions for multiple global markets through products and scenarios such as Alipay+, covering multiple aspects such as payment acquisition, customer growth, and fund management.
"When foreign companies enter China, it's not just about companies entering, but also about the entire supporting system and services from companies to banks entering China. For example, their large group downstairs is their bank. The current supply chain going global is not only about products going global, but also about supporting soft services going global." Yu Lin also mentioned. With the footsteps of overseas enterprises, the maps of Ant and more service providers are also constantly expanding.
The current new energy enterprises are gradually accumulating recognition from global consumers and becoming representatives of the new generation of Chinese manufacturing going global, shaping their brand image from labor-intensive to technology driven. And behind them, there are also infrastructure service providers such as payment companies accompanying them to jointly enter the global market.