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Technologická Inkubace

Manufactures original electric bicycles and cargo trolleys. We build on an honest craftsmanship tradition, says the founder of E-CAFE BIKE

Mobility
18.12. 2024
line-arrow Manufactures original electric bicycles and cargo trolleys. We build on an honest craftsmanship tradition, says the founder of E-CAFE BIKE

In the Czech Republic, micromobility is developing much more slowly than in Western countries such as Benelux, France or Germany.

The article was taken from zdopravy.cz.

The combination of business and creativity – this combination won the E-CAFE BIKE startup this year’s Creative Business Cup competition. E-CAFE BIKE started with the production of original electric bicycles, to which it also added cargo trucks this year. Cars have a large emission footprint, take up a lot of space and worsen the quality of life in cities. “We want to help city dwellers who suffer from excessive traffic,” says Jan Malina, founder and designer of E-CAFE BIKE. A detailed presentation of the company is available in pdf.

In your experience, how is micromobility developing in the Czech Republic or in comparison with other markets you are targeting?

We are the Czech brand E-CAFE BIKE and we produce premium urban electric bikes and cargo trolleys to relieve cities from traffic congestion. Why did we decide to produce urban e-bikes and cargo trolleys? Because the world is changing. Just like us, other people are thinking about and starting to look for alternatives to personal transport. And that’s why my wife and I started our company four years ago. It started as a personal need, not a business plan. We were tired of constantly commuting by car to work and spending time in rush hour traffic and traffic jams. We were looking for a suitable alternative, but nothing on the market matched our idea of functionality, design, and most importantly environmental friendliness in the city. So we decided to build our own electric bike.

Traffic congestion is clear in all European metropolises and the Czech Republic is no exception. Even so, micromobility is developing much more slowly in the Czech Republic than in Western countries such as Benelux, France or Germany, where the bicycle is a common means of transport and an integral part of the daily commute. In the Czech Republic, we still encounter the view that the bicycle is considered to be for sport.

We therefore want to help the inhabitants of cities that suffer from excessive traffic. We already produce and sell electric bicycles that are designed for everyday urban use due to their reliability and ease of operation. We also bring advanced solutions, such as lighting from motorcycles, installation of turn signals, wide comfortable tires, for safe riding on any terrain or even a cargo cart for transporting cargo.

What is missing for the Czech Republic to catch up with these more developed markets?

The growth of the electric bicycle and cargo bike segment is mainly due to increasing investments as well as government support for the introduction of eco-friendly forms of transport. Germany, for example, has been providing a subsidy of €2,500 for the purchase of an e-bike or truck since 2018, and this trend is also common in other countries such as Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy and Benelux. Unfortunately, the Czech Republic is still lagging behind in this trend. We hope that it will soon join in.

The major driver for the growth of the cargo bike market is its commercial use. Up to 50% of all delivery and service trips in the city centre could be replaced by cargo bikes in the near future. There is a clear lack of education and awareness in the Czech Republic that cycling is the most accessible, sustainable and efficient way to get around town, and this is no different for last-mile delivery. This is also related to, for example, the building of micro-depots for deliveries and the overall infrastructure. While the number of shipments distributed via micro-deposits in Prague grew 22% year-on-year in the first half of 2024, growth of 80% to 100% is common abroad, increasing the efficiency of the cargo bike system.

Europe represents almost 70% of the cargo bike market and is the fastest growing category of green mobility and the potential for expansion is far from being fully exploited. This trend is mainly driven by e-commerce. The growth of e-commerce has led to a surge in demand for last-mile delivery services. Delivery within 90 minutes of ordering or same day is most often preferred by Gen Z. And for 75% of shoppers in the Czech Republic, speed of delivery is the most important deciding factor in their purchase.

How is the concept of cargo bikes implemented in our conditions, do we have any best practice examples from the domestic market?

Thanks to the support of Technology Incubation from CzechInvest, we have developed innovative electric cargo trolleys with a minimal carbon footprint. The number of cars in cities continues to grow, while road transport is the biggest contributor to air pollution. Transport in general accounts for a quarter of Europe’s harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Road transport accounts for three quarters of these harmful transport emissions. With our electric cargo trolleys, we aim to reduce these emissions by up to 98%, improving not only our health but also our quality of life in cities.

We are a Czech company that builds on the foundations of honest craftsmanship tradition. That is why we make maximum use of domestic suppliers. For example, we also manufacture batteries in the Czech Republic and their quality is one of the best on the market. Our cargo trolleys are compatible with all bikes on the market, so they can be integrated into your existing fleet of cargo bikes. Connecting to any bike takes only a few seconds. We currently have a pilot operation planned in cooperation with a courier company in Brno, which outsources last-mile delivery for DHL and Dachser. For cities and municipalities, we want to use grants under Smart Cities. Currently we already have a mobile information stand in Jihlava and we are looking for other cities to test, for example also for maintenance services or waste collection.

With the city of Jihlava, we have launched a pilot test project of a tourist e-bike with a trolley as a mobile information station on cycle paths, as part of a project to develop cycling tourism in the city and its surroundings. This is a dynamic and attractive form of mobile information centre.

What attracted you most in the developed European markets?

In addition to large shipping and courier companies, cargo bikes in Europe today are mostly used by small and medium-sized enterprises, 87% of which use them to transport stock, deliver goods, parcels and food. In addition to small retailers, this includes craftsmen, gardeners, chimney sweeps and caterers. For all these sectors we are able to tailor our trolleys to suit their needs, including the transport of bulky items, which is why we have prepared the loading area of our cargo trolleys directly for easy transport of Euro pallets. Cargo e-bikes can deliver shipments up to 60% faster than conventional diesel vans in city centres. They are also ten times cheaper to run.

ESG is a big topic in Europe, and we also see a trend that even large companies are trying to reduce their carbon footprint. That’s why we’re also focusing on corporate clients. We are developing fleet solutions of e-bikes and cargo trucks for corporate companies as part of the Sustainable Future Programme, to replace or complement corporate vehicles with e-bikes, but keeping fleet management simple through one app.

What did incubation in the Technological Incubation project help you to achieve?

This year, we received CZK 4.6 million in subsidies from CzechInvest from the Technology Incubation. Thanks to this support, we have developed an innovative cargo truck with its own electric drive to have the smallest carbon footprint on the market. Thanks to their own electric drive, our cargo trolleys enable heavy loads of up to 250 kg to be transported without any effort and are the only ones on the market that are fully energy self-sufficient. We have placed solar panels on the cargo trolleys to recharge the battery while driving, which can be done in just 8 hours in ideal sunny conditions, reducing the carbon footprint by up to 50% compared to other cargo bikes on the market.

Thanks to Technology Incubation, we are currently working together with Škoda X on a solution to use recycled batteries from the automotive industry in our cargo trucks and take the next step in the circular economy. We are also the only one on the market to have certification for transporting sensitive materials – for example, pharmaceuticals or food. The same material is also used by the Czech army or the Red Cross. Last but not least, we have digital integration into the systems of the operators. Our mission is Zero emission delivery, so our electric cargo trucks will have the smallest carbon footprint in production and their operation on the global market, which will give us a clear competitive advantage in ESG for the B2B and B2G customer segment.

Not only have you had success in mobility, but you also won the national round of the Creative Business Cup 2024. What did winning in this non-traditional sector mean to you?

The combination of business and creativity is what helped us win this year’s Creative Business Cup. We pride ourselves on manufacturing in our own country to ensure our cargo trucks have the smallest possible carbon footprint. So we don’t plan to manufacture in a remote country, even though it might be cheaper. It was the emphasis on this green approach that appealed to the jury.

It is a great satisfaction for us that even with a minimal budget and family funding we can build a beautiful brand that can win a prestigious competition and compete in a global final where we could present honest Czech production.

Startup E-CAFE BIKE is incubated in the Mobility Innovation Hub of the Technology Incubation project within the second project call. Full medallion can be found at here. It is also the winner of the national round of the Creative Business Cup 2024, details can be found in this article.

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