The future of e-bikes? The retail car showroom

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So far, e-bikes have largely been sold through two avenues: direct to consumer or specialty bike shops

The eBliss Anytime electric bike starts with the push of a button. It has a sealed automatic transmission that selects the right gear, no greasy chain that stains the pant leg, and even two red taillights. It’s the closest a two-wheeled, saddled bicycle comes to the experience of driving an automatic car.Bill Klehm, chief executive of eBliss, is a car man. He spent decades at Ford and CarFax and now is in the e-bike sector.

. The direct-to-consumer route is plagued with challenges arising from poor quality control. For example, over the past year, Rad Power Bikes, which sells direct to consumers, has faced a series of high-profile lawsuits, a recall of 30,000 bikes and layoffs, and it has pulled out of the European market.

These new consumers are not bike enthusiasts, he said. They live outside dense cities and are unlikely to trade a 30-minute car commute for an hour-long bike ride. Instead, he’s targeting people who want another mode of transportation for the last mile. The quick jaunt down the road to a coffee shop, restaurant or the gym. This last mile accounts for a lot of time spent in a car. Fifty per cent of car trips in the U.S. are less than three miles, said Mr. Klehm.

This makes sense from a business perspective too, he said. The car dealership is the largest and most well-oiled distributor of transportation devices. There are 17,000 franchised auto dealers in the U.S., with US$1.7-trillion in annual sales.

 

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