by Ed Benjamin
Senior Managing Director, eCycleElectric
Consultants Chairman Light Electric Vehicle Association
2020 has been a very difficult year for many people, and for many reasons, in the USA. Record numbers of Covid infections, political discord, record high unemployment, and many other problems have made this a bad year.
Electric Bike Business is booming despite, or because of, all these problems. Don DiCostanzo, the boss of leading USA ebike brand Pedego says his biggest problem is shipping as many bikes every day as his dealers are ordering. USA Ebike brands have faced a lot of uncertainty in the last few years.
The 301 tariffs caused dismay, forcing ebikes from China initially pay a substantial extra duty, after years of no duty at all. Many USA brands shifted sourcing of their ebikes (and bicycles) to Vietnam or Taiwan.
Pedego was a leader in this, and due to quick action, Don explained that he avoided most of the 301 tariffs. Then there was an exemption given for electric bikes from China, which is due to expire a month after this is written.
This sort of on / off problem is difficult for supply chain managers and factories. But despite the tariffs, the ebike business grew substantially, after some slumps caused not by consumer demand, but by lack of confidence from brand manager buyers. This resulted in some product shortages in 2019. (Pedego, having bought at a normal pace, escaped this problem, says DiCostanzo.)
BREAKING: Federal Battery Safety Standards Included in Government Funding Bill
On Tuesday night, Speaker Mike Johnson released a draft budget resolution to temporarily fund the government. The 1,500+ page bill contains an amended version of the Torres battery bill, HR1797/S1008. The bill directs the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to adopt UL 2271, UL 2272, and UL 2849 as mandatory federal safety standards for e-mobility products within six months of the bill’s passage. This section of the resolution is attached below.
Earth day 2024 #earthday
Edward Benjamin Chairman, Light Electric Vehicle Association Senior Managing Director, eCycleElectric Consultants 22th April 2024 We should all be Proud to be creating and
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When the pandemic became evident, and the USA suffered the initial shut down of all but essential activities, brand buyer confidence was shaken again. Orders were put on hold. Shipments stopped. (And stock sold out!)
Just as the SARS epidemic in Asia (2002 – 2004) caused many people to avoid mass transit and buy electric bikes to use as personal transportation, the Covid Pandemic in the USA has resulted in a great increase in ebike sales for personal transportation, safe recreation, and outdoor exercise. Pedego has a powerful brand position as the favored bike of the aging Baby Boomers of the USA.
Their best-selling bikes cater to the physical realities of this age group, and the longestablished preferences for style and color of the Boomers. Since the Boomers are also a highrisk group forCovid infections, this has been a fortunate convergence of factors to boost sales. Dicostanzo notes that almost all the ebike brands of the USA have sold out.
Every channel of distribution and demographic group has been buying ebikes. Pedego, he says, was fortunate to be well prepared for this and has had sufficient supplies of ebikes. As this is written, the USA has big problems in the future with the pandemic, a looming election, a shattered economy, ecological problems that must be dealt with, and changing demographics. But one of the stand-out winners in this time of difficulty is the electric bike. Ebikes are tools that allow the owner to avoid mass transit in densely populated cities. They are fun and outdoors exercise at a time when so many things are difficult. DiCostanzo observes that “When things are tough, ebikes sell. When things are good, ebikes sell.
” This has been the way of the bicycle business for all of the decades that this writer has been involved. Today, the promise that the electric bike business will face a bright future has come true. Electric bikes are the primary profit maker of the USA bicycle industry. They are the bright spot in a difficult year.
by Ed Benjamin
Senior Managing Director, eCycleElectric
Consultants Chairman Light Electric Vehicle Association