The cargo bike made in France, with the support of the automobile industry
2023-12-27 15:20:00
At the Renault Trucks production site in Saint-Priest, in the suburbs of Lyon, trucks are not the only machines coming off the lines.
The manufacturer (a subsidiary of the Swedish group Volvo) has partnered for a year with the start-up Kleuster to assemble cargo bikes, i.e. long electric bikes with a box for transporting packages.
The objective: “to address the last kilometer or even the last meter” of a delivery in the city in particular, because the vans, although electric, “will remain in a traffic jam” unlike bicycles, underlines Mr. Sonzini.
The bike is then distributed in the Renault Trucks network, alongside diesel or electric trucks and vans.
According to Gérard Tetu, director and founder of Kleuster, demand is “for the moment timid” and is accelerating “at the rate of ZFEs” (low-emission zones, which limit the circulation of polluting vehicles).
But the boss sees “a real challenge” in decarbonization and decongestion of cities, and has identified “a real interest whether from communities or businesses”.
Cyclo-logistics
Thomas Coulbeaut, CEO of Douze cycles, French manufacturer of electric cargo bike, developed in partnership with the Japanese manufacturer Toyota, on September 22, 2023 in Longvic, Côte d’OrAFP/Archives / ARNAUD FINISTRE.
The heavyweight in the cargo bike sector, Douze Cycles, has set up its new factory in Longvic, near Dijon.
For its new model, some 30% of customers should be individuals, transporting children or shopping in the front or back, and 70% professionals.
“We are talking about craftsmen, companies, who use these bicycles for cyclo-logistics,” according to the founder of Douze Cycles, Thomas Coulbeaut.
In 2022, 738,454 electrically assisted bicycles (VAE) were sold in France during the year (+12%), representing 28% of the market.
The number of cargo bikes sold, largely electrified, has almost doubled (from 17,000 to 33,000) even if these are still low volumes.
In certain districts of Paris, the majority of La Poste parcels are already delivered by cycle and the group has committed to purchasing at least 1,000 additional cargo bikes by 2025.
The online commerce giant Amazon plans to develop its “micromobility hubs” – depots smaller than peripheral warehouses, from where it can ensure delivery in the heart of the city on foot or by bike – which already exist in more than 20 European cities.
Peugeot Cycles is also due to launch in 2024 a first cargo bike intended for professionals and manufactured in Lyon by the start-up Beweel. And automotive equipment manufacturers have also invested in the niche, such as Bosch or Valeo, which produce electric motors for bicycles.
Cadre “made in France”
At Douze Cycles, the fourth generation of the cargo bike is manufactured in France “almost in its entirety”, explains Thomas Coulbeaut.
Even the centerpiece of the cycle, the frame, is manufactured in France, an industrial challenge, while the overwhelming majority of bicycle frames are today manufactured in Asia.AFP/Archives / ARNAUD FINISTRE.
Even the centerpiece of the cycle, the frame, is manufactured in France – an industrial challenge, while the overwhelming majority of bicycle frames are today manufactured in Asia.
“These are different parts which are assembled together by welding,” explains the manager. “It’s a lot of small parts that need to be prepared and welded” and it requires “a lot of labor.”
To localize manufacturing in France, it was necessary to “respond to the same functionalities by manufacturing in a different way”, by molding, reducing the manufacturing time and the labor required, and therefore the costs.
And there too, an automobile group is involved: the French subsidiary of Toyota has started to market cargo bikes “made in France” in a network of 270 dealerships.
Toyota has “created dedicated spaces” in dealerships for bicycles, marketed under the dual brand, and trained the sales… and technical teams, explains Frank Marotte, CEO of Toyota France.
“One of the ambitions we have to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the players is to ensure an after-sales service structure comparable to what we find in the automobile industry,” he adds.