not long after Yamaha announced that it was ending sales of its electric bicycles in the North American market
I didn’t know Yamaha was selling e-bikes in North America.
now the Swiss e-bike maker Stromer is pulling out of the US and Canada.
I’ve never heard of this company that was allegedly selling e-bikes in Canada.
Maybe the issue is marketing? None of the local bike shops have those two brands, and I would imagine that business would suck if you aren’t selling any e-bikes…
100% marketing. There’s no clear avenue for potential customers to find out about these brands; it’s not like the old days where you just take out a spread in a magazine. I could name maybe three brands that do e-bikes outside of the old names (Cannondale, Specialized, etc.). So if you’re not in that last, I’m never going to buy your bike.
Yeah, there are so many “influencers” who would gladly take one of your e-bikes for a “review”, and that can give you exposure to millions of people who are looking for e-bikes already (or are curious about them). The YouTube Channel “electroheads” is an example of a place to hear about some brands outside of Trek.
Even sponsoring free test rides through local bike shops can at least get your brand’s name out there.
My theory is that there’s a bit of a divide in bicycle brands: the old and new. The old ones have the name recognition, which means people know about them, but not necessarily that they make e-bikes. The new ones will have the flashy website and visuals to draw in the online crowd. I think the e-bike people are kind of in-between those two and so are slipping through the cracks.
I’ve never heard of them either
Lack of bike-friendly infrastructure, with several other factors causing and maintaining the lack of bike-friendly infrastructure.
Stromer’s electric bicycles have been popular among the ultra-premium end of the market, though that is a small niche that has never supported very high sales volume in North America. With multiple models above US $10,000
My ebike from an American company was $1800 with a 1000W motor. This company made bikes 5x the price with 750W motors. If you price yourself out of the market, you won’t make sales!
