Interview with Vincent Mazet of Kiffy, French ebike manufacturer

A brilliant analysis of market perspectives for ebikes, from the commercial director of the French manufacturer Kiffy.

Yamaha recently decided to build its electric motor production plant for Europe in France. What are the advantages of producing electric bikes in France?
V. M.: There are management and societal advantages. Namely, the organisation of our microcosm locally is a real plus for reactivity, especially with regard to the manufacture of our frames and accessories, and this is part of a global approach of reasonable production in order to have a positive impact on the workers in our region as well.

While the Germans are very competitive in terms of mechanics and the Asians rely on economies of scale, we think that the French can distinguish themselves by the design and ergonomics of their ebikes, following the example of what has happened with cars (Renault Espace, Twingo, Scénic, Citroën Picasso, Peugeot 205, etc.). What do you think about this?
V. M.: The Germans are very good at global thinking and implementation on a large scale, which is also important for our society and given the size of the population, congratulations to them. From our point of view, the idea with Kiffy was rather to rely on local know-how and to develop our product on these bases but with a product that is very adapted to the market and to the targeted use for which it is predestined.  Design remains a matter of taste in my opinion.

The Kiffy Smart Capsule seems to us, compared to the competition, particularly elegant, ergonomic and “livable”, thanks also to well designed accessories. The price seems to us to be quite competitive and the colour palette is lively and well chosen. What other advantages can you attribute to it?
V. M. : As mentioned before, the Kiffy was designed and built on the basis of our local know-how. Also, the goal for us beyond the visual aspect has always been to offer a bike adapted to its category. In other words, a construction adapted for the transport of children but not only, because we are in the process of developing other accessories in order to be able to embellish our bicycle and also fit for alternative practices for transporting children. Our strong points on the Kiffy are the small 20mm wheels, the very low frame which allows people of 1.5m height to get on the bike without any problem and which translates into an easy straddling for all, and its general weight. All of this combined translates into ease of handling and a better control the product, which will allow even the less experienced to feel at ease on the ebike even when loaded.

According to a recent survey by CEREMA, the French government’s study centre for transport and the environment, less than 4% of electric bike owners in France are under the age of 36. In your opinion, why are young people so uninterested in ebikes?
V. M.: I think that first of all there are budgetary realities regarding the answer to this question. In addition, older people also see the practicality of non-electric bikes which are lighter and easily transportable and can be stored at home. Bicycle garages and other parking facilities are still too limited in our major cities. Lastly, people would be more inclined to think about having more secure storage facilities because the reality is that bicycle theft is rampant and this does not encourage people to invest in expensive bicycles.

What would you do to persuade more young people to buy an electric bike?
V. M.: Make them fully usable on a daily basis and not only for going to work, that means the possibility of transporting people, shopping, etc…
For example, Elisabeth Borne, the current French Prime Minister, is supporting the spread of electric bikes in France via subsidies and the development of cycle paths and car parks. However, nothing specific is planned for schools, which often have no parking for bikes and no cycle paths to get there. Not to mention charging stations for electric bikes. E-cargo bikes, like the Kiffy, could break the habit of taking children to school by car. This leads to traffic jams, wasted money and fuel, pollution, and damage to public health. Using an electric cargo bike would benefit everyone. Can you rank in descending order of importance these factors holding back the adoption of ebikes in France?
V. M. :
1. price of electric bikes
2. lack of sheltered parking
3. lack of cycle paths
4. frequency of theft (300,000 bikes stolen each year in France)
5. misinformation about battery pollution (overestimated)

We recently wrote in this blog about electric bikes with digital transmission, without chains or belts, and about gearboxes integrated into the motor. What do you think about this?
V. M.: I completely agree with this, even if we are still far from it. The integrated gearboxes will allow users to always be in the right operating range.

In your experience, what are the advantages of having online dealers for your products, compared to the established dealers?
V. M.: Product visibility and opportunistic selling, but as I am old school I still believe in my customers and the fact that they are the prescribers in their shops.

Less than €2500 for an electric bike or €5000 for a reliable and efficient e-cargo is not expensive, considering the savings they allow compared to a car. Nevertheless, the mass adoption of the car has been greatly helped by affordable models, such as the 2 Chevaux, the Renault 4, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Fiat 500, the Mini, etc. Do you think it is possible and desirable that manufacturers should move towards producing cheaper electric bikes, also thanks to the economies of scale that will come?
V. M.: Not necessarily, because if I take your example of the 2 Chevaux, Fiat 500, Mini or other, it was not so obvious that it was not expensive for households at the time. It’s rather that households made the necessary efforts to have access to these products and did not consume as much as we do today, which has a real impact on all our consumption items because people today consider that they should have access to everything immediately. I think prices can be what they are as long as they have a local and sustainable economic impact. In short, expensive sustainable products are not necessarily more expensive than cheaper products that would be replaced more often. Access to them is just more complicated and needs to be more anticipated.

Do you think that the legal speed limit in the EU of 25 km/h for electric bikes without insurance and registration is too restrictive? Wouldn’t it be better to raise it to 32 km/h, especially to facilitate the use of e-cargo for urban deliveries?
V. M. : I completely agree with a speed of 32 km which I consider ideal for both city and sport bikes. However, I am not yet ready for this to happen because this 32km implementation implies a real monopoly of the use of the bike vs. the car, otherwise it could be quite dangerous with the less experienced users and the cohabitation with other modes of transport.

In the Netherlands, in the 1970s, bicycles were very rare, also because of the cold and windy climate. Following a series of tragic accidents in which children were run over by cars, many mothers took to the streets, demanding that traffic be limited in the cities. This triggered the cultural metamorphosis that would lead the Dutch people to travel more than half of their urban journeys by bicycle. Do you think that in France the culture of cycling as a means of transport should be promoted? By what means?
V. M.: Completely. By closing city centres, which would give city dwellers a breath of fresh air and give them back control of their city centre while allowing city centre shops to recover. Life would be very different for them, as evidenced by London’s city centre, which has already adopted this model for over a decade now and has seen a real revival in the attractiveness of the city centre and a real breath of fresh air and well-being in everyday life.

According to the above-mentioned study, 20% of French people are reluctant to buy an electric bike because they consider the batteries too polluting. We have tried to demonstrate on this blog that the pollution of batteries is derisory, especially in comparison with that of cars. Nevertheless, there is a lot of misinformation in the media about this. What is your opinion?
V. M. : The de-pollution of batteries is a real subject and yes it is not so simple and not so polluting. Just like the first photovoltaic panels which could be recycled only a little or not at all and which are now fully recyclable thanks to the latest printing technologies which have completely abolished the silicon of our solar panels. Also, the impact of bicycle users compared to cars is derisory, so this economy of scale deserves to be made and put forward while not forgetting the development of battery technologies which I hope one day will evolve on new technologies such as plasma for energy capture or heat dissipation, who knows how far we could go if we all work together to solve these problems.

Thanks to Vincent Mazet!