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EU Accuses China of Dumping Inexpensive eBikes in Europe?

10/04/2017

A article by CNN dumbfounded us here at Stark Drive recently. The title of the Article:

China has been accused of flooding Europe with hundreds of thousands of cheap electric bicycles. by Ivana Kottasová @ivanakottasova

the main reason that the article has invoked such reactions over here is that the EU has been pushing a policy of renewable transport to combat climate change as long as we can remember and most recently with the VW Diesegate fiasco as well as the environmental disasters in recent years related to fossil fuels this the policy makers have lead us to believe that anything that is good for the environment is something actively pursued by the EU.

Well here we have something that could not be more green (electric bikes) which both take single passenger vehicles off the road and replace them with compact and lightweight transport not only reducing inner-city congestion but also contributing to improved air quality consequently reducing disease and improving quality of life.

Yes the chinese are able to make electric bikes affordably, i have written about this in a previous blog post in so much as china with their gargantuan population and significant environmental impact due to them basically working as the worlds factory is making strides in trying to clean up their cities through the use of bike sharing programs and a concerted effort to electrify their cities.

Inexpensive electric bikes are a good thing.

Yes it means that competition is harder for EU based companies but this is where innovation comes into play. Innovate and create unique eBike designs, features and capabilities. The chinese are unbeatable in mass production as their cost of labor is so incredibly low, innovation is what will save the electric bike industry in europe, not imposing sanctions, anti-dumping tariffs and the like. These just serve to limit consumer choice and prevent mass adoption of electric bikes.

These are our companies founding principles and ones we stand by.

We were approached by a VC firm whom wanted to invest in our company significantly. After a discussion about financials, one of the team made a statement which although true was completely against our companies values in so much as he had said: 'Well with the current market here in the EU you could easily increase your prices to improve your margins'. Yes, it is true we could increase our prices but that would decrease the number of people whom have the ability to afford an electric bike which goes against everything we believe in at Stark Drive.

With ❤ 

Stark Drive Team
Stark Drive LLC