GEORGE TOWN: Eclimo Sdn Bhd aims to sell 20,000 units of its electric scooters worth RM214mil by the end of 2013.
Eclimo executive director Dennis Chuah said in an interview that of the 20,000 ES11 scooters, about 20% would be exported.
The price for each ES11 is RM10,700.
The model comes with a 6,000 watt motor, which is roughly equivalent to a 125cc engine.
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| Chuah (centre left), managing director Liew Chung Peng flanked by Miss Junior Chamber International Malaysia finalists. |
”We have already obtained the homologation certificate from the relevant European authorities to sell our electric scooters in Europe.
”We have also applied to the Japanese authorities to obtain approval to sell our electric scooters in Japan,” he said.
Chuah said the company took part in the Tokyo Motor Show and Milan Motor Show last year and saw very strong interest in its electric scooters.
“The enquiries came from fast-food companies, courier-service companies and also hotels.
“We expect to do well in countries where petroleum prices are high,” he said.
In South-East Asia, Eclimo is targeting sales to Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand. The company is also in the midst of obtaining approval from the relevant authorities in South-East Asian countries to export to them.
“We will be releasing 500 units of Eclimo ES11 scooters into the market next month.
“We have already secured orders from Penang and Kuala Lumpur for the units,” he said.
Some 12 authorised dealers had been appointed in Penang and Kuala Lumpur, Chuah added.
Chuah said the scooters were designed and assembled at a plant in Bayan Lepas.
“We will move into a new assembly and design facility on a 1.6ha site in Batu Kawan Industrial Park in Seberang Prai next year.
“The investment for the facility and equipment will come to about RM40mil.
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| Models posing with the scooters. The company says the components for the scooters come mostly from Malaysia. |
“We also plan to set up a service centre in every state in the country, which will either be managed by Eclimo or by the dealers,” he said.
Chuah said the key advantage of Eclimo scooters is that they employ fully electric direct-drive technology to make the scooters run without traditional transmission systems and internal combustion engines.
“There are many electric scooters operating on direct drive technology, but they can only run up to 50km per hour.
“Our direct drive technology is developed with our US technological partners, which enable our scooters to run up to 100km per hour,” he added.
About 70% of the parts and components used for the Eclimo’s electric scooters are sourced within the country.
“These include the lithium-ion batteries, plastic body panels, and electric motors.
“Lithium-ion batteries are used as they are able to retain up to 70% of their capacity after three years of usage in motorcycles and allow a charging time of three and a half hours,” he said.
Eclimo is collaborating with credit card companies and banks to provide easy payment schemes of three to six years, Chuah said.
“Our business plan is to partner with factories, hotels, and courier service companies to promote the scooters to their employees via an affordably structured leasing programme,” he said.
The electric scooters enable users to save about RM1,874 per year in terms of petrol and maintenance costs.
“Users of electric scooters need to pay about RM806 for maintenance and electricity yearly, compared to roughly RM2,681 yearly for petrol powered bike,” he said.
To date, there are 8.9 million motorcycles registered with the Road Transport Department in the country.
“The registration of new motorcycles stands at about 50,000 yearly, which is a significant number.
“We plan to produce about 70,000 units of electric scooters and electric motorcycles by 2017,” he said.
Next year, the plan is to produce the EB25 motorcycle, which would be equipped with a 12,000 watt motor, equivalent to a 250cc engine, Chuah added.
Chuah started the business with his partner, Liew Chung Pheng, in 2008, with an initial investment of RM1.5mil.
“The first three years were spent on developing the design of the scooters and applying for the permit from the authorities to sell in the country.
“The approval to sell was recently obtained,” Chuah added.