MICROMOBILITY
brand fundraised €16 million from two venture capital firms – with Chevalier and Fullen retaining 100% ownership.
Although this was initially
going to be used to increase production,Chevalier is content to conserve the funds while the market undergoes somewhat of a reset. “The answer would be totally different if you asked me the same question one year ago,” he explained. “We raised €16 million in July 2022 in order to increase our production capacity, invest in our research and development and promote our brand abroad. That’s still the plan but at a different scale. We have to keep being agile.
“Since the market slowed down, we want to keep a very healthy financial situation and many of our competitors in the mobility industry right now are having a very tough time because of [too much] stock.” The vision now for Chevalier is to keep the company
healthy, keep staff on board and wait for the right moment to revisit the long term growth plan “We also don’t want to be in this situation where we let our dealer down because we have too much stock and we have to cut the price,” he added. As mentioned earlier, Eovolt’s demand is driven by more
than French people supporting a French brand. “Increasing our business abroad [helped] to compensate for the business that we lost in our local market,” said Chevalier. “For the French market, we have a very clear analysis and
we saw a very big decrease in demand. But for the other markets, since we were not so major in those, we are still growing. Not because the markets are growing, it’s just we are growing in a decreasing market.”
Balancing cost and value Oscar Wilde once quipped: “A cynic is a man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” Although this may be read as a pretentious reference by the author of this article, it is very relevant to the commuter market.
The cost of something and the value are often merged by the consumer – especially in the current climate when 40% off RRP is becoming the standard. “You wouldn’t have thought to spend €1,000 on a smartphone 20 years ago,” said Chevalier.
“But now a smartphone has so much value for us because we use it every single day, so it matters less how much it costs “For the bicycle industry I believe it’s the same. Our
www.bikebiz.com
Eovolt merchandising
product has such an impact on people’s lives. It gets rid of a lot of problems for people who commute and they will be able to take it anywhere. It is also safer and more comfortable.”
Commitment to innovation Intrinsic to the value offered by Eovolt is its continued commitment in innovation. Year-on-year, Chevalier said the brand will re-invest around 10% of its turnover in research and development. For 2024, Eovolt will introduce a premium range of belt- driven, folding e-bikes to its line-up that will exist alongside its current offering. As well as the Gates belt drive, the 2024 range will feature a completely redesigned frame and fork, higher capacity seatpost battery, integrated cabling, new Bafang hub motor, auto-locking hinges, auto-centre saddle alignment, ABUS battery clamps, a stable double kickstand and a refined foldable cockpit with custom positioning for different sized riders. “On the new bike we’ve applied for six patents and already got three of them,” explained Chevalier. “The new auto-locking hinge, our new battery system and the magnet-locking system “Every patent is linked to another. The battery system
patent is only relevant because of another patent that makes the base this shape – and so on. I hope our users won’t really focus on patents too much and just focus on the experience they have.” Not every change made to the model requires a patent. According to Eovolt, between 30 and 40 tweaks are made
year-on-year to ensure a more user-friendly experience. One example is a rubber cover on the base of the seatpost, triggered after an employee damaged their floor by dropping it in their apartment.
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