Electric potential is a ‘huge opportunity’

Following the creation of the British Electric Bicycle Association (BEBA), revealed last month, one of its founder members, Moore Large, has told BikeBiz that the sector has a long way to go to reach its potential.

Moore Large handles the Izip electric bike brand and sees education as a major factor in paving the way for the sector in the UK, which is currently seeing growth in Europe and Taiwan.

Moore Large MD Nigel Moore told BikeBiz that although the formation of BEBA will give the sector a much-needed push, the distributor already has its own strategy: “The electric bike market has an awfully long way to go to begin to reach its potential. The key element to developing this market is education of both the dealer and the consumer. Of course the BEBA will help but we have already put in place a strategy to unlock this huge opportunity. Such is our belief in the market and the Izip brand that we have appointed a dedicated brand manager.”

Lack of experience in the fledgling sector is putting some bike dealers off the electric bike market, but this an area where distributors – including Moore
Large – can help: “Izip brand manager Dave Kiddy has years of experience with electric bikes and will be responsible not only for selling the product, but also dealer support, training and spares back- up. This is the crucial element. It’s not really a product where a dealer can ‘just try one and see how it goes’. It needs range investment and workshop training, which we are very happy to supply.

“The product is not a bicycle. It is a motorised vehicle and the dealer together with the supplier must be able to ensure it stays on the road. We’re keen to talk to any dealer interested in understanding better this potentially huge market.”

You can find BikeBiz’s full interview with Moore Large in the latest edition (October), while is also available to download on PDF via the ‘download print edition’ tab here.