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.

In a statement, EPMB said its wholly owned subsidiary, EP Blueshark Sdn Bhd, signed a master agreement yesterday 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.

The purchase deal will be effective for five years from the date of the agreement and may be extended with mutual agreement. Over the five-year period, EP Blueshark is expected to supply at least two 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, it said.

EPMB has recently tied-up with China-based Sharkgulf Technologies Group Ltd to assemble, manufacture and distribute the latter’s Blueshark branded two-wheeled EV, targeting Malaysian and other South-East Asian markets. 

In October 2022, EP Blueshark received the approval from the government to assemble and manufacture e-bikes at its upcoming manufacturing facility in Glenmarie, Shah Alam.

EPMB acting CEO Lim Sim Yee said the five year deal will 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 EV venture only began less than a year ago, we have been seeing a strong response from prospective clients.

“We see tremendous growth opportunities for two-wheeler EVs in Indonesia and Vietnam,” he added.

The Indonesian e-bike market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 20.96% to reach US$816.2 million by 2025, according to an independent study by Research and Markets. EPMB hopes to be at the forefront to capitalise on this demand, Lim said.

In July 2022, Averte signed a memorandum of understanding with Vietnam’s Viettel Post Joint Stock Corp which will purchase 20,000 e-bikes as well as open its 1,800 outlets across the country to cooperate with Averte to sell e-bikes to corporate and individual customers.

Averte had also signed a preliminary agreement in July 2022 with PT Sarinah, a state-owned enterprise under the Indonesian government, and its procurement partner, PT Marco Indokarya, for the procurement of two million units of e-Bike for the next five years.

Meanwhile, Blueshark is primarily involved in but not limited to e-bike manufacturing, supply chain, system technology and ecosystem and carbon trading in Asean.

Apart from the e-bike venture, EPMB is also in the middle 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.

The five-year deal also allows EPMB the option to use its own brand name for the EV. – TMR