The international electric micromobility promotion platform e-scooter.co launched an import intermediary platform that enables local sellers and international logistics specialists to service customers that want to import an electric vehicle from other countries.

e-scooter.co started to accept import purchase requests about 1,5 years ago and over 30 000 people have submitted a request since, with over 10 requests pending from the countries Suid-Afrika, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Mosambiek, Lesotho, Botswana en Namibië with a combined revenue of R 726 579, which excludes revenue from additional services that can be sold to customers such as insurance, finance, maintenance service and the primary import service fee, which may double the revenue potential with a high profit margin.

Why Electric Vehicles Face Difficulties

There are various reasons why electric micromobility products face great difficulties to enter the market despite their great advantages such as significant cost-saving for owners.

For example, electric scooters and mopeds literally save up to 90% of maintenance costs which undermines the business model of the existing sales infrastructure of petrol-engine based vehicles, hindering those established outlets to sell electric models.

Manufacturing Disruption

While the existing petrol-engine based service infrastructure can't financially sustain itself with electric models from established brands, the brands themselves face profound disruption from the much bigger component industry that enables smaller startups to create high quality mobility products.

For example, the 🇩🇪 German brand Bosch has been developing advanced and reliable electric motor kits that includes a dashboard and electrical system and the innovative startup Edison Motors from 🇹🇭 Thailand launched a scooter barebone platform that enables other startups to create new models.

The manufacturing scale 3D printing industry causes further disruption in this space.

Big Petrol Brands Not Motivated to Enter The Market

The manufacturing disruption trajectory caused big brands early on in 2010-2015 to make a hard decision to not enter the electric vehicle market, or to enter it in a way that didn't unlock its full potential for the greatest possible market.

Some have criticized 🇮🇹 Italian Vespa-Piaggio for example for introducing an electric model that costs twice as much as the petrol version for an effective driving range of only 60 km while advertising a driving range of 100 km, and while not having a removable battery.

By comparison, the petrol version of the same Vespa model has a reliable driving range of 280 km and Vespa is unlikely to have failed to deliver on the electric driving range by accident.

In practice, this electric vehicle largely stimulated the sales of petrol models on economic grounds and is likely to have been introduced for that purpose despite that some people have been happy to pay R 135 859 for an iconic electric Vespa while the petrol version costs R 67 930.

Scared away from both ends

Small disruptors scared of going global

While established big brands were financially reluctant to enter the market in the first place, smaller startups (manufacturing disruptors), due to scale-ing and logistics related problems, often remained limited to sales in a single country or a small region.

As an example, the unique Carver scooter-car or the GiGi foldable moped from the 🇳🇱 Netherlands are not yet sold internationally while there has been a significant demand for over a decade. In the 🇺🇸 US alone over R 20 571 163 in orders for the Carver were sent in on e-scooter.co and someone from 🇮🇳 India sent the following message in his purchase request on March 1, 2025.

I want carver in India

An interaction with the founder of Dutch startup GiGi learned that the company initially had high ambitions but ultimately was scared away from selling internationally.

Selling can be easy but what if something breaks? Then there has to be a local party that can provide service. We do have the EEC certificates but we only want to enter a market when we are financially ready for it.

This line of reasoning makes sense and is common from the perspective of small manufacturers but the problem for international access for customers is that this line of reasoning intensifies over time when a manufacturer aspires to improve its quality and service.

In practice, this results in a high potential vehicle not becoming available in other countries, despite potential high demand.

GiGi, one of the first electric moped pioneers in the Netherlands with high international ambitions and EEC certificates, now decades later, never went beyond the Dutch border.

A Solution For The Market

Connecting Buyers with Import Intermediary's

The simple function of the e-scooter.co platform is to connect import intermediary's (sellers, importers or logistics specialists) with buyers. Quality service and reliable business are ensured through Escrow payment by the customer.

An example customer review reveals how the service might work in practice:

(voorbeeldresensie) Ek het die nuutste Gogoro Pulse-hiperscooter in Nederland ontvang via \'n Uship.com-vervoerreëling met \'n vervoerder uit Viëtnam wat spasie in hul besending van Taiwan na Rotterdam gehad het.

Die scooter is by my huis afgelewer en die aankoopproses het presies verloop soos met die invoertussenganger wat op my aankoopversoek op e-scooter.co gereageer het, ooreengekom is.

Registrasie van die scooter in Nederland het \'n bietjie meer papierwerk vereis, maar is uiteindelik voltooi. Die totale prys wat ek betaal het is laer as die prys van \'n nuwe Vespa Elettrica in my land.

Ek vind dit ongelooflik dat ek die eerste is wat hierdie scooter in Nederland bestuur! Die Gogoro Pulse Hiperscooter versnel vinniger as die meeste motors in Nederland, en Gogoro fokus daarop om hul voertuie maklik te onderhou met Europese onderdele by enige motorfietswinkel, sodat onderhoud koste-vriendelik en maklik is.

\'n Gelukkige kliënt!

A Simple Business Model

In ruil vir toegang tot die nuutste modelle van regoor die wêreld, neem kliënte volle verantwoordelikheid vir waarborg, diens en registrasie in hul land. Die kliënt aanvaar selfs om waarborgdiens deur die vervaardiger te laat vaar in gevalle waar ’n vervaardiger waarborgdiens in ’n spesifieke land weier.

Die resultaat is ’n eenvoudige transaksiebesigheidsmodel: die kliënt betaal vir die aflewering van die voertuig. Sodra die diens voltooi is, is die transaksie afgehandel sonder risiko vir langtermynklantetevredenheid of diensverwante probleme.

Kliënte sal tevrede wees en hul mobiliteitsoplossing sal doeltreffend wees

In die praktyk is elektriese voertuie bewys as hoogs betroubaar en vereis tot 90% minder onderhoud.

Buiten basiese onderhoudsdiens, sal die meeste elektriese brommers en motorscooters maklik dekades lank aanhou werk sonder verdere onderhoud. Elektriese stelsels breek nie maklik nie en moderne voertuie is IP-gesertifiseerde water- en stofdigte ontwerpe wat dekades sal hou.

’n Elektriese motor in mikrovervoer breek byna nooit en het selde vooraf probleme tydens aflewering nie. ’n Elektriese motor sal maklik 50 jaar sonder onderhoud hou.

Moderne elektriese voertuie ontvang oor-die-lug-onderhoudsdiens deur die vervaardiger wat sagteware-opdaterings, voertuiggesondheidsmonitering en pro-aktiewe waarskuwings insluit om die voertuig in goeie toestand te hou. Dit sal bykomend ’n duursame en doeltreffende mobiliteitsoplossing in die praktyk vir kliënte verseker, selfs sonder die sekuriteit van fabriekswaarborgdiens.

Slim gebruik van moderne dienste kan internasionale logistiek maklik maak

Dienste soos UShip.com maak dit maklik om voertuie wêreldwyd teen lae koste te verskeep. By Uship kan internasionale vervoerders met oorblywende spasie hul ruimte vul met individuele bestellings van kliënte, soos byvoorbeeld ’n elektriese brommer of motorscooter van ’n handelaar in Thailand na ’n kliënt in Duitsland.

Die registrasie van sommige voertuie kan moeilik wees in sekere lande, maar met elke sukses word daar vordering gemaak en dit is nie nodig om hierdie diens aan kliënte te verskaf nie.

Lewensvatbaar en hoë inkomstepotensiaal

Die invoer van modelle wat nie in ’n land beskikbaar is nie, is hoogs eksklusief vir kliënte, en kliënte sal bereid wees om ’n hoë prys te betaal om hul gewenste model vandag te kry.

Volle Beheer

The intermediary is in full control and owns the customer relationship from the start.

e-scooter.co is not involved in financial transactions between businesses and the customer. A third-party Escrow service is strongly advised by the platform to protect both buyers and sellers, but when customers trust the intermediary they may decide to pay to them directly.

Access to Customers

e-scooter.co charges intermediary's a yearly subscription fee for ongoing access to new customers. On a daily basis, many new customer requests are sent in that can be serviced, resulting in a multi-million USD business opportunity.

Businesses can apply for access on the following URL:

https://za.e-scooter.co/requests/

A list with top requested models and basic market analysis is available on this page