Friday, March 29, 2024

Pay-as-you-go electric biking option

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The numbers of electric farm bikes rounding up cows or traversing sheep country are likely to increase in coming months, thanks to funding for greater green vehicle uptake on farms.
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The pioneering Tauranga-based electric motorbike company UBCO has created a finance company with government-backed Carbn Group to finance subscription deals for their two-wheel electric farm bikes. UBCO first started manufacturing the two-wheel drive bikes in 2015 and is now up to the fifth iteration of the machines.

The Carbn Group has received investment of $5.8 million from the New Zealand Green Investment Finance fund to accelerate the uptake of low emissions investment in NZ.

UBCO chief executive Timothy Allan says the subscription model, with a government-backed fund reducing the business risk for UBCO, may prove to be a pathway for ramping up numbers in other classes of electric vehicles (EV) in NZ.

“For a good EV, the battery forms about 30% of the cost. Really what you are doing is paying for all your fuel up front, so buyers are in a way penalised by that cost. And the gap is so great between the cost of fuel and the 20c a day energy cost of the electric bike,” Allan said.

Having a subscription or leasing option available to farmers and fleet users of the UBCO bikes helps remove an element of doubt first-time users will have about battery life and quality.

“But it is also about the end of life issue, and how you deal with that battery when its life is over,” he said. 

“Most people will not even know what to do with AA batteries, let alone a battery of this size, which can be reused in other applications, or recycled. It can make great carbon savings during its life, but you are responsible for that battery at the end of its lifespan.”

The lease period runs for three years, a period that appears to work well for most farmers, and the cost will vary depending upon the number of bikes leased, but it is expected to fall between $70 and $80 a week per bike.

North Waikato farmer Grant Coombes has been instrumental in helping UBCO develop the bikes for demanding NZ farm conditions since the company started in 2015.

“With energy costs of under 20c a day it makes for efficient work – we only charge the bikes every three or four days, and now we can upgrade our fleet without paying the upfront costs, it is a no-brainer,” Coombes said. 

The bikes retail for about $8000 each.

Allan says the company is not limiting itself to farm-use alone, and already has a fleet of over 50 bikes delivering Domino’s pizzas around urban NZ.

Last mile delivery from food, freight and postal companies is coming from within NZ and abroad but about 50% of the company’s sales have been to farm users to date.

The company is also in the later stages of developing an electric quad bike for farm use.

Data indicates there are 175,000 registered motorbikes in NZ, but the unregistered recreational-farm numbers are estimated at double that.

The UBCO bikes claim 80% less CO2 emissions than petrol equivalents over their lifetime, and 60% less when allowing for the whole of their life cycle.

Allan says the company has invested significant time and money into developing an “intelligent” battery system for the bikes that lends itself to be a standalone power supply if needed. 

Once finished for use in the bikes, they can also be used in “low and slow” power demand situations, such as storing electricity generated from solar panels

The partnership with Carbn extends to Australia, with other options being investigated around the world. 

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