The Electric Motor Vehicle Company is hoping to make its electric bikes more accessible to Southlanders with a new retail store in Invercargill Central.
Managing director and engineer Alex de Boer has designed the Geobyke as a more affordable ebike option, better suited to Southland conditions.
And while the bikes’ components are manufactured in China, they are assembled in Invercargill.
But the company’s Avenal location was somewhat out of the way, de Boer said, and he wanted to bring the bikes closer to shoppers.
The new location also puts him in close proximity to hotels, making it easy for tourists to pick up rentals.
“We’ve got bikes for every occasion, as long as it’s electric,” de Boer said, “and there’s more variety on the way.”
The storefront – in the space that used to house the Toot Sweets pop-up store – had been done up in mossy green, but de Boer chose bright colours for some of his bikes.
“You want to show off something you’re proud of,” he said.
Along the walls, shoppers could see maps for some of the cycling trails around Southland.
The Geobyke store would be managed by former Torpedo 7 manager and former professional cyclist Joshua Haggerty who would be able to discuss buyers’ requirements to help them choose a bike.
The bikes, De Boer said, had a range of about 80km, depending on the power needed.
“So if you have to go up a hill, you’ve got the grunt to do so.”
The Electric Motor Vehicle Company started off selling already imported ebikes alongside its cars and UTVs, but De Boer said he often couldn’t pinpoint the bikes’ specs or reliability.
“I found that so frustrating.”
So being an engineer, he set about designing a bike himself, with features like using easy to source, common parts to make replacing spares easy and sustainable.
Now he was working on a lithium ion battery specifically for farms with a stainless steel box that can’t be punctured and won’t be susceptible to corrosive substances such as animal urine.
“If a battery fails for some reason, we can take it apart and fix it within 30 minutes,” De Boer said.
He was also working with solar and wind energy installers who could use the batteries during down times.
“In a modern age, companies like ours need to think outside the square,” he said.
His commitment to sustainability even extends to everyday business practice with the store being completely paperless.
“For an old bugger like me, it’s hard to pull me into,” de Boer joked.
