Vietnamese electric bicycle maker Haybike is seeking to make inroads into the niche market as more and more people prefer cycling as a green living trend. The Investor talks with Haybike CEO Nguyen Van Tuyen about his company's endeavor in its pursuit.
The market already has many established electric bicycle brands like Giant, Panasonic, and Yamaha PAS. What makes Haybike any different?
Competing with big brands is tough because Giant, Panasonic, Yamaha and others have many years of experience and utilize high technology. A great deal of money is required, for both technology and marketing, not to mention patience in achieving a break-even point. Therefore, we have followed our own path.
Bamboo is a very typical Vietnamese material, and can be exploited in large amounts. It is strong, durable, flexible and hard. It is cheap but as hard as steel, and more flexible than steel. Haybike uses bamboo to make e-bikes while other brands do not.
We put Vietnamese emotion and soul into our bamboo products, which are cheaper on the domestic market than some imported equivalents.
Design is also extremely important, which we align with Vietnamese preferences. We use software to determine the height of an e-bike, seating position, body length and size, age, and if a customer is male or female, etc.
Haybike was born in Vietnam and understands the Vietnamese market well. That’s how Haybike is able to create different experiences. Our customers are also spreading our message of green living, environmental protection and social responsibility.
For any manufacturer, it is not possible to guarantee 100% error-free products. Our customer care solutions are aimed at any problems that may occur.
Using bamboo might raise concerns over product safety. How would you address this?
We have succeeded in ensuring product safety in using the friendly and renewable material. Bamboo is an organic material, not metal. Technical solutions are required to deal with bamboo-related problems like decay, or weathering. It is a relatively complicated process, but Haybike has solved these problems to create durable products.
The product life cycle of Haybike is 12 years. Under favorable weather conditions, durability could reach 20 years. However, 12 years is our benchmark and could be considered a long life cycle for a bicycle.
Petrol prices are on the rise, and more and more Vietnamese are growing aware of eco-friendly living. Do you see this as an advantage for e-bike producers?
Generally speaking, people in Vietnam and worldwide are becoming more eco-friendly. Cycling is getting more popular in Europe, which used to depend on cars. Currently, the Netherlands population is about 17 million, with 23 million bicycles in use.
Vietnam is also in the process of development and will reach the peak of bicycles by 2030. After two years of Covid-19 outbreaks, cycling has expanded very quickly. Bicycle producers in Vietnam and all over the world have recently experienced supply shortages, with higher production capacities required.
Our own forecast for the Vietnamese market peak is 2025 instead of 2030. We also expect sustainable growth to follow.
Regarding bamboo, we think using it to make bicycles could create greater value compared to other products.
As for increasing petrol prices worldwide, I see electric cars, cycling and public transport as alternatives to deal with the problem.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in developing Haybike?
During the two-year pandemic, despite high market demand, the supply chain of materials and spare parts was broken in Vietnam and Europe, causing production disruptions and sales decrease.
Your products are already available in the EU and North America. Please tell us about your experience in penetrating these markets?
When approaching overseas markets, we faced many challenges due to the higher demand for quality products.
We signed a sponsorship contract with the Heerenveen football club in the Netherlands for them to use our bamboo bike. It was one of our initial steps into Europe.
Customers in these markets are very practical, extremely specific, and are strict on requirements. If we failed to pay attention we could face costly legal issues. We are fortunate to have partners that understand the European market well.
What are your forecast on the electric bicycle markets in Vietnam and Southeast Asia?
Post-pandemic demand in Vietnam and the region is increasing dramatically. According to our research, the domestic market has reached VND7,500 billion (over $320 million) and growing at an average of 30% per year. The Southeast Asian market is larger in size and similar in growth.
What could foreign businesses achieve by partnering with Haybike?
Haybike wishes to team up with reputable and potential partners in foreign countries. Together, we can create more products of higher quality. Partnerships could help us supply the overseas market, including with production technology.