An electric bike in Australia costs more than $1,700. The world’s first affordable electric bike is one step closer to hitting the roads with the announcement that Australian start-up Dillenger Electric Bicycles has shattered its crowdfunding target set at $100,000.
Dillenger has created the Dillenger Cheetah – the world’s first electric bike available for under A$400 – and has managed to raise over $130,000 in just two weeks on Kickstarter.
Sam Sewell, the company’s founder, told StartupSmart he turned to Kickstarter because it seemed like the best way to promote his new idea.
“You can see a lot of value orientated things that people took to crowdsourcing to get off the ground – not so much traditional products that a company is working on but things that are a little left of centre,” Sewell said.
“This has all the functions of a normal folding bike but is has the added components that make it electric-assisted. You start pedalling along but the electric motor kicks in and helps you get to a certain kind of speed or helps you get up a hill.”
The company developed a “straight line process” for the design, manufacturing and assembly of the Dillenger Cheetah, thus reducing costs and improving quality control.
“We now know that there are better, more cost-effective ways of producing electric bikes whilst still maintaining the same great features and a quality that our customers deserve,” the creators state on their Kickstarter page.
“That’s where the Dillenger Cheetah is set to change everything. We’ve invested in new design and production techniques that allow us to produce the Cheetah and deliver it to our customers at a price point that blows the competition out of the water.”
The first available production is scheduled for delivery this month, while the second production is due to be delivered in March.
The company also announced plans to expand the range in 2015.
