Downfall of Brompton? Pride goes before a fall, lol! Brompton is a serious company and established as fuck for a long time now. No fucking hipster startup is going to change that overnight.
I really think that there is a market for whether I cheekily refer to as an OPEC (One Person Electric Car). Aim for a $5-7k price tag. 100 miles of range, max of 80 mph. USA federal refs would require a backup camera but I’d save $ by requiring the end user to bring an iPhone or Android device for any mapping, or infotainment via a single speaker. AC and Heat would be required as I’d expect this to be a commuter car. Storage can be minuscule to non existent as this would not be a standard grocery getter… maybe a big backpack size compartment so the business user can fit their laptop…
Make it small but ok to drive 20 minutes back and forth to the office or for the quick errand. A good second car.
Looks cool, but constant connectivity is a non-starter. We've seen what happens when the company's servers go down when they go bankrupt. You end up with a bricked bike.
I need to jump gutters or kerbing when painted bike lanes end, or to avoid idiots in cars trying to kill me by jumping onto the side walks and the back off. I have to ride across mud and dirt trails sometimes and then.I've had to bunny hop concrete or ashpalt slabs tjat are off the road ls on the "bike lane" while they do.work on the road. Nine had to to ride across a reaolynroigh area where big tree roots have raised all the asphalt on the bike lane and lots of other times.
I think I'd die commuting on one of the bikes in the article :(
Because they're not going to sell a ton of units. Economics of scale work against them. They need to at least break even, and not just on the parts and labour for the unit (which are already higher than they would be on a higher volume product all on their own) but also on the r&d, post-sale support and warranties, administration, etc.
That's a great explanation for why it costs that much, but not for why they think it's a good idea to sell it for that price.
Other companies first build a prototype and gather investment so that they can build a first 1000 (not 60) units and can reach a price that can be attractive for the market. Or build first a niche, super exclusive product so that the lack of economies of scale doesn't matter as much.
In here I just can't see the value proposition really. For half the price I can buy something like a Renault Twizy or Citroen Ami with similar size, twice the speed, twice the range, and still zero emissions. Plus I don't have to pedal, and I get a radio. Why would I ever want this?
Entrepreneurial ego plays a part I think. Unless they already found 60 people that want them for this price.
Developing an agile enough process and factory to make things like this might be an interesting business model. Probably way Too low profit to attract investors though.
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