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Australian manufacturer and distributor of electric motorcycles
Vmoto
stylised text in lower case with a letter v in orange followed by moto on a contrasting black background
Company typePublic
Industry
  • Motor vehicle manufacturing
  • Motor vehicle distribution
Founded1999; 25 years ago (1999) in Perth, Australia
FounderPatrick Davin
HeadquartersPerth
Area servedAustralia
Key peopleCharles Chen
WebsiteVmoto

Vmoto is a manufacturer and distributor of electric motorcycles, based in Perth, Australia, with a manufacturing facility located in Nanjing, China.

The Nanjing factory of Vmoto produces the electric motorcycles of the Super Soco brand, and these are distributed internationally through the Vmoto Soco group, an entity controlled by Vmoto.

History

Founding and formation

The group has its origins in Vmoto Motorcycles, a scooter distributor business which was founded by Perth entrepreneur Patrick Davin in 1999. An ASX-listed company, the Optima group, acquired the Vmoto brand in 2006, and Davin was appointed as managing director the following year, after which the company took on the name of the motorcycle brand.

A period of rapid consolidation followed on from the Vmoto acquisition. At the end of 2006, Vmoto announced a formal agreement to acquire the Shanghai-based motorcycle trading and distribution company Freedomotor. The managing director of Freedomotor, Charles Chen, joined the board of the company following the acquisition, which was completed on the first day of the new year.

In 2008 the company commenced the construction of a scooter assembly plant in Nanjing, China, which was completed the following year. In December of the same year, Vmoto entered into a strategic agreement with the German electric scooter company, E-max, initially acquiring 60% of the company in December 2009, then taking full control of the company in 2010. The company also started supplying electric engines for the Vietnamese market.

The acquisition of E-Max charted the long term path of the company, with electric two-wheelers remaining at the core of the Vmoto's future activities.

In November 2010, the Vmoto founder Patrick Davin resigned as managing director, to be replaced by Charles Chen, and Russel Goodman, the largest shareholder in the company, took up the position of Executive Chairman in the wake of the departure, only to be removed from his position early in the new year. Subsequently, the former chairman made good on threats to liquidate his entire position in the company.

The resignation of Davin and Goodman marked the beginning of an extended period of inertia for the company. The E-Max electric scooters produced by the company proved to be something of a flop, with less than one hundred sold in Australia. An attempt in 2012 to gain a foothold in the Chinese market via an agreement with a Chinese automotive group seemed to initially offer promise, but the change of direction ultimately failed to revive the fortunes of the company, and the company floundered for several years thereafter. The company continued to push research in its production, and technology relating to "green" handlebars was licensed to another scooter manufacturer in Dusheng, China in 2014.

2015 saw increased exports of Vmoto scooters to overseas markets, particularly Nepal, which was in the grip of a petrol shortage prompted by the Nepal blockade imposed on that country by India.

The chair of the company was vacant for some time, before finally being filled by Phillip Campbell in 2017, after a share trading halt.

Partnership with Super Soco

In 2017, Vmoto entered into an informal partnership with an emerging Chinese EV company, Super Soco. An agreement was signed under which Super Soco relocated to the Nanjing manufacturing facility of Vmoto, which was not at full capacity. That year the two companies conjointly presented at the EICMA motorcycle event in Milan.

The commencement of the relationship with Super Soco marked a shift in direction for the company, the company reducing its exposure to China from China in favour of western markets.

In 2019, Vmoto entered into an agreement with Ducati, producing a special edition Super Soco scooter bedecked in the signature Ducati branding.

In February 2020, Vmoto formalised their strategic relationship with Super Soco, through the establishment of a joint venture, Vmoto Soco. As per the terms of this agreement, Vmoto gained international distribution rights over the Super Soco models, as well as its existing E-Max brand. Vmoto Soco also became the exclusive manufacturer of the Super Soco motorcycle range.

In November the following year, Vmoto pushed into the e-bike segment, entering into a strategic partnership with Stealth Electric Bikes and C-creative.

Brand re-launch

In November 2021, the company embarked on an initiative to revitalise their faded brand, engaging a European design firm for the purpose, and employing their platform at the 2021 Milan EICMA motorcycle event to showcase the brand re-boot. During the event, the company unveiled the first premium motorcycle model to be produced by the group, the Vmoto Stash, aimed at the European and North American markets.

Vmoto launched a new fleet concept scooter, the Fleet Concept F01. The scooter features a 90 kilometres (56 mi) range, has double disk brakes and a combined braking system, and is aimed at B2B and for business fleets for commercial operations.

Earlier in the same year, the company supplied five scooters to the MotoE World Cup organisers for the use of staff during the events.

At the EICMA event in November 2022, Vmoto launched the new 'Stash' motorcycle, which had been showcased at the same event in the previous year. The company also unveiled an electric dirt bike at the same event.

Ride Share market push

In 2020, Vmoto began pushing into the burgeoning electric Scooter-sharing system business. This saw Vmoto offer bulk scooters to commercial fleet operators of ride share scooters, in a number of different countries.

In December 2022, VMotoSoco entered into an exclusive agreement with FortunEV, the group company of Future Motor Corporation for the India Market. The company is launching the CPx and a new TS in the first phase.

By 2021, the company was supplying scooters to seven different ride share operations globally, and was in discussion with another 12.

Partnership with Charged

In November, 2022, Vmoto entered into a partnership with Charged Indonesia, a provider of e-motorcycle-as-a-service subscriptions.

Acquisition of UK Distributor

In March 2023, Vmoto Distribution UK, which had been the importer and distributor of Vmoto and Super Soco branded motorcycles in the United Kingdom since 2015, announced it had formally entered into administration.

The following month, Vmoto Limited announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire the UK Distributor for A$1 million, thereby providing Vmoto with proximate access to dealers of the motorcycle brand across in a key market of the group.

Partnering with Ni Hsin EV

On the 24th of July, 2023, Vmoto and Malaysia's Ni Hsin EV signed an MOU for the assembling, marketing and distribution of electric vehicles, offering Vmoto a gateway into the Malaysian market.

References

  1. "Vmoto appoints co-founder Davin as MD". Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-05-30. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  2. "Vmoto buys into scooter manufacturer for $1.6m". Business News. 2007-05-31. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  3. Donkin, Rachael (4 June 2010). "Vmoto mops up rest of E-Max". The West Australian. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  4. "Scooter firm Vmoto expands in Asia". Drive. 2008-06-16. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  5. "Dumped Vmoto chairman threatens to sell up". The West Australian. 2011-01-19. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
  6. "An electric moped may be the most practical EV of them all". The Driven. 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  7. "Vmoto and PowerEagle form joint venture to increase market share of electric scooters in China". Australian Manufacturing. 2015-12-24. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  8. "Dusheng authorised to use Vmoto's handle bar technology". RWE Australian Business News. November 10, 2014.
  9. "Electric two-wheelers: In limbo". The Annapurna Express. 2018-02-07. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
  10. "Unions generate electric blue; BETTER BIS; VMOTO NOISE; FAMILY CIRCLE". The West Australian (Perth). May 31, 2017.
  11. "Vmoto in Chinese JV deal". The West Australian (Perth). February 25, 2020.
  12. "Ducati partners with Aussie electric bike and scooter company Vmoto". News.com.au. 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  13. Abdullah, Wahid Ooi (2019-05-02). "Ducati Signs Deal with Vmoto to Produce Electric Scooters". Motorcycle news, Motorcycle reviews from Malaysia, Asia and the world - BikesRepublic.com. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  14. Evans, Nick (May 2, 2019). "Ducati gives Vmoto some vroom". The Australian.
  15. "Ducati revs up shares in Vmoto". The West Australian (Perth). May 2, 2019.
  16. "French Revolution 2020:Food wars down the virus haunted streets of France". Gold and Revolution. 2021-11-17. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  17. McMahon, Dave (2021-11-24). "EICMA: Stealth electric bikes offers four new models for 2022". powersportsbusiness.com. Retrieved 2021-12-22.
  18. "Vmoto Stash preview". EICMA. 2021-11-12. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  19. "VMoto unveils Stash, The Electric OEM's First Premium Motorbike". RideApart. 2021-11-24. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  20. "Vmoto Limited: Vmoto Launches New Premium Products and Brand Re-design". Impact Financial News. November 30, 2021.
  21. "India - Vmoto Fleet Concept F01, with 90km range, breaks cover". MENAFN - Business & Finance News. December 8, 2021.
  22. "Vmoto Soco announced as scooter supplier to MotoE". Bike Review. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  23. Archived 2021-12-23 at the Wayback Machine
  24. "Vmoto range grows: Super Soco owners launch three new urban models at Eicma 2022". Motorcyclenews.com. 2022-11-14. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  25. "Vmoto scoots along; Perth-based company records sales jump over June quarter". The West Australian (Perth). August 4, 2020.
  26. "On a Mission to Create a Cleaner Future With Electric Two-Wheelers & Services - Charged Indonesia CCO Stephanus Widi". Autofutures. 2023-04-06. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  27. "Electric motorbike distributor crashes into administration". The Business Desk.com. 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2022-11-03.
  28. "NI HSIN PARTNERS AUSTRALIA'S VMOTO FOR EV MOTORCYCLES ASSEMBLY AND DISTRIBUTION IN MALAYSIA". Technode Global. 2023-07-23. Retrieved 2023-08-30.

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