Polish electric bike start-up Urvis Bike is aiming to expand into new markets after securing a new round of funding – and company bossed say that the UK is a target market for the future.
The firm currently offers its ‘long John’ e-bike in a number of Polish cities and Berlin, Germany, either through sales or a subscription. Urvia offers a ‘cargo-bike-as-a-service’ scheme, with subscriptions including a customised bicycle, a guarantee and maintenance included.
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While the firm is aiming to deliver around 50 e-bikes this year, it has recently netted €410,000 (£356,000) in a second funding round, which it intends to use to scale up its operations next year.
Company boss Paweł Raja told Move Electric the UK was “definitely our target” for future expansion due to the size of the e-bike market here, but said the firm would take its time in growing.
He added: “We want to increasingly go beyond Poland to various other markets in Europe. But this will be done gradually – we need to adjust production capacity and component availability to demand.”
However, Raja did note that the firm’s bike is available to order via its website, priced at €4200 (£3650).
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The firm said the design of its cargo e-bike was shaped by the failure of other cargo e-bikes to make inroads into the Polish market. It has been designed for both private and commercial use in urban areas.
It features a 250W Bafang motor mounted in the rear wheel hub, with power drawn from a 740Wh battery – the largest possible with that motor. The battery is located on the mounting rail so it can be easily removed for charging or swapped with a full unit, and offers a range of around 43 miles. It also features Shimano gears, Magura brakes and Schwalbe tyres.
The motor also dictated a 10mm rear axle, which is attached to a 26in wheel. The front has a smaller 20in wheel to make it more compact and maximise cargo space. The bike can carry ip to 250kg, the maximum permitted for that class of e-bike, with the load area supported by aluminium alloy rails mounted on the bike’s steel frame.