When the market is in the macro context of economic cycle iteration, the business narrative written by the objective situation of superimposed online traffic dividend has completed a fundamental transformation.
Export is not only to sell their own products internationally, but also to integrate into the local market to complete the new or reshaped.
However, under the global convergence of consumption trends, there are individual differences in regional markets.
The problems with brands are not the same. Many brands often encounter the situation of “acclimation”, eating habits, products, quality and even service level are difficult to fully replicate the mature experience in the local.
It is worth noting that in the e-bike industry, which is popular in the European and American markets, Chinese companies are at the forefront, and it is also one of the main supply chain bases of this new species.
View the world: market base changes from niche to trend
The rise of the consumer industry is inevitably accompanied by a small hobby to complete the transformation of the mass trend.
At the same time, if you take your view away from the local market, you will find that the market process in different countries is not the same.
Taking the Chinese market as an example, the rise of camping, Frisbee and other trends has brought prosperity to the corresponding industries.
The logic behind this is that popular trends are leading the consumer industry.
A prerequisite for export is securing the right market. Starting from the industry concept, “carbon neutral+ consumer electronics+ short-distance electric travel+ new energy”, the e-bike has almost stepped on all the concepts that the primary market is pursuing, which can be regarded as fundamentally commercially correct.
In the transformation of e-bikes from a minority to a trend, the market in different countries has shown its acceptance.
A unified large market can form a unified brand and achieve greater growth.
By comparison, the Chinese market is special. The historical precipitation of all kinds of electric two-wheelers has created a kingdom of electric vehicles.
Data show that the penetration rate of two-wheelers in China reaches 75%. However, in terms of industry development, low-speed electric motorcycles are rare worldwide due to compliance and safety standards.
In the continuous compliance requirements, China’s electric vehicle market has also ushered in the need to upgrade the possibility of e-bikes.
It is necessary to establish this demand.
The European market is also relatively mature.
After more than a decade of development, the European e-bike track is ushering in a wave of transformation from ordinary two-wheelers to electrification.
For startups, it is crucial to maintain the sustained growth of previous years. The relative stock of the two markets is not good for start-ups.
Picking a market with more room for growth is crucial. According to data provided by the company, the U.S. e-bike market is in its infancy in 2021, with annual sales of less than 1 million units.
By 2022, sales of two-wheelers in the United States were 18 million, close to 20 million in Europe, but sales of electric bicycles are only 1.5 million, and the penetration rate is not more than 10%.
“Our own calculation is that the U.S. is at least a market of 5 million a year.” The trend has started, but the market has not.
The value of the United States as a startup market is targeted by VELOTRIC.
See Living: Differences between user scenarios and competitive landscape
Over the past 12 months, the VELOTRIC has sold nearly 30,000 units in the United States.
The study of the corresponding user portraits is very close to what the VELOTRIC team had planned.
On the one hand, the real main force of consumption in the United States is concentrated in middle-aged and middle-aged people over 35.
Over 70% of VELOTRIC users are over the age of 35. This is completely different from China, which is more inclined to embrace young groups and new consumption concepts.
One background is that the generational turnover of consumer groups that often exist in China may not be applicable in the United States .
Purchasing power is more concentrated in the middle-aged and elderly, and consumer trends are synchronized.
On the other hand, it is women’s need to be seen. The VELOTRIC team found that women’s needs were not well met in the e-bike market such as women’s road bikes.
For example, the most basic need for color, the U.S. market was more black and gray, bike design is more for men, until VELOTRIC design provides targeted design, the need for women.
“We want this bike to be a versatile accessory for users to travel with.” Zhang recalls this phrase from the first PRD as the reason why women chose VELOTRIC.
VELOTRIC has a 40% female user base, twice the average brand.
In addition, it is the confirmation of user requirements. In the Chinese and European markets, an e-bike itself is a means of transportation, appearing in all kinds of commuting scenes.
The big market difference is that the United States, as a car kingdom, has little demand for commuting, and VELOTRIC’s own research results show that e-bikes are more of a leisure, fitness and exercise tool in the lives of American users.
The difference between users is that in the North American market, sports and leisure is a permanent need. “On that basis, we did more research on brands.”
The survey indicated that existing brands in the North American e-bike market are unable to meet entry-level consumers.
Local e-bike brands such as TREK, Specialized and other bike brands launched products, high quality but expensive, and complex use and maintenance, are not suitable for more popular needs.
Although the cross-border e-bike brand is relatively cheap, most of the appearance and function are extremely similar, and can not distinguish, and some products have security risks, more cross-border products rather than famous brands.
2020, it is a turning point for the rapid growth of the e-bike sector in the North American market.
First of all, the arrival of the epidemic, the overall online purchase rate in the United States increased, so that all kinds of e-bike brands relying on online channels began to expand.
Secondly, the increase in home behavior has made users’ consumption habits change, and the two points and lines of work and family have begun to focus on users themselves, and various outdoor needs have begun to rise.
After identifying the market, users and competitors, VELOTRIC’s brand advantage is to deliver products with cost performance and functional differentiation.
See Yourself: matching business opportunities with corporate abilities
As a new brand, VELOTRIC was founded in 2021, and its independent station was launched in May 2022, after talking about nearly 30,000 users, behind the rapid growth of tens of millions of dollars in sales.
VELOTRIC’s growth is a testament to the high growth of the North American market and the founding team’s ability to seize business opportunities.
On the whole, the founding team comes from the shared travel industry such as Lime and Didi, and naturally has accumulated experience in electric two-wheelers.
This accumulation is reflected in safety, quality, cost and other aspects. Starting with the first product in 2021, all VELOTRIC products are UL2849 (American Insurance Certification Institute) certified.
In 2023, New York’s new regulations required e-bikes to pass the test when the published list showed that only 14 vehicles passed the certification. Most retail brands are “completely destroyed.”
In a sense, this is also a reverse attack. The sharing industry is characterized by both security and reliability, and extreme cost compression.
When it comes to the specific product, it is the cost-effective delivery of the product.
VELOTRIC’s product strategy, including range, motor torque, cycling climbing ability and other riding performance, is 30% higher than the competition, but the price is 30% cheaper than others.
“What we want to do more is to be Volkswagen’s e-bike brands.” Therefore, in terms of product positioning, VELOTRIC focuses on entry-level e-bikes to bring cost-effective products.
At present, among the four models, the best-selling is the standard D1, which provides more paint color supply while completing the standardized product positioning.
In addition, for different needs, there are also Discover commuter series, off-road vehicle Nomad series, lightweight, sporty Thunder series and other differentiated product matrix.
VELOTRIC puts a lot of effort into the core components and riding experience, with more than 60% of the product self-developed.
With self-developed accessories, systems and other ways, while saving 30% of the cost, improving 30% of battery life and motor capacity, and finally achieving cost-effective positioning can be achieved.
At the same time, the self-developed method can ensure continued quality and efficiency. Compared to the traditional 150-day turnaround time of the supply chain, VELOTRIC only takes 85 days, and the quality return rate is less than 1%.
In terms of brand model, VELOTRIC can be considered a DNVB brand. That is, the business model of vertically integrated supply chain, from production and manufacturing, sales and operation, logistics and transportation are directly completed by the brand itself.
The more detailed split is the full coverage of online DTC+ offline IBD.
Offline channels are an inevitable choice for retail brands. VELOTRIC’s offline channel grew rapidly in just five months.
It now has more than 400 dealers, covering more than 15 states.
An e-commerce feature of the North American market is that e-commerce is abundant and independent access is crucial.
Of course, digital branding doesn’t mean smart products. Despite launching its first app, Zhang thinks VELOTRIC will be very restrained in its intelligence.
The intelligent function mainly focuses on improving the riding experience of the target user, rather than pursuing large and comprehensive functions to bring problems to the user’s use.
Let the e-bike return to the core evaluation criteria of “whether it is good to ride.”
