EPMB bags major EV deal to deliver 23,000 e-Bikes

From left: EP Manufacturing Bhd executive chairman Hamidon Abdullah, Averte Global Pte Ltd CEO Roy Fung and Blueshark Ecosystem Sdn Bhd Group CEO (Asean) Jeff Chong. 

KUALA LUMPUR: EP Manufacturing Bhd (EPMB) has won its first major deal to supply electric bikes (e-Bikes) for the Indonesian and Vietnamese markets, with an initial order of 23,000 units to be delivered from the first quarter of 2023.

EPMB, via its wholly-owned subsidiary EP Blueshark Sdn Bhd, signed a master agreement with Singapore-based Averte Global Pte Ltd and Hong Kong-based Blueshark Group Ltd, in which Averte and Blueshark have jointly agreed to be the joint-venture partners and purchasers.

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In a statement, EPMB said the purchase deal will be effective for five years from the date of the master agreement and may be extended with mutual agreement.

Over the 5-year period, EP Blueshark is expected to supply at least 2 million e-Bikes to the purchasers.

The price for each e-Bike is expected to be within the range of US$1,850 – US$3,900.

EPMB acting chief executive officer Lim Sim Yee said the 5-year deal would create a new source of revenue for the group with a healthy margin.

“This will put us on an accelerated growth as we work towards securing more such buyers in the future. While our electric vehicle (EV) venture only began less than a year ago, we have been seeing a strong response from prospective clients.

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“We see tremendous growth opportunities for two-wheeler EVs in Indonesia and Vietnam. The Indonesian e-Bike market, for example, is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20.96% to reach US$816.2mil by 2025, according to an independent study by Research and Markets. EPMB hopes to be at the forefront to capitalise on this demand,” she added.

Apart from the e-Bike venture, EPMB is also in the midst of building its market presence as a regional four-wheeled EV player.

In December 2022, the group entered into an exclusive distributor agreement with Hubei Dongfeng Power Auto Trade Co Ltd and Xiamen Tsingyan Hylong Motor Technology Co Ltd to assemble and sell Lingbox EVs in Malaysia and Indonesia.