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36Kr learned that "kuiperbelt" completed an angel round of financing with a valuation of RMB 55 million a year ago, and the investor was Xiangfeng K2VC. He Qin, the founder of kuiperbelt, told 36Kr that the financing funds will be mainly used for product development, market promotion and supply chain construction.

Founded in 2022, kuiperbelt is an eBike brand originating from Europe and with a diverse background. Since its inception, it has focused on the global market, hoping to build an innovative brand of two-wheel new travel for the mid-to-high-end market through the trinity of products, performance and brand. Based on efficient supply chain integration, highly modular design and sustainable concepts, it advocates an all-weather, multi-purpose eBike lifestyle.The first product, kuiperbelt S1, is positioned as a SUB (Sport Utility eBike, corresponding to sports utility electric assisted bicycle), or more commonly, the SUV in the eBike world.

Kuiperbelt product image, provided by the interviewee

He Qin, the founder of kuiperbelt, was an early employee of UC Browser. He participated in the establishment of Ali Sports and held several key positions in Ali Mobile Business Group. After leaving Ali, he was invited to manage a shared electric travel project and became involved in two-wheeled vehicles. Before that, he was a rider with more than 20 years of experience. Since then, He Qin has successively participated in the investment and resource integration of many electric travel projects.

Why did he change from an investor to an entrepreneur? "I still hope to build a great company myself," He Qin said. Why did he choose the travel industry? He Qin's underlying logic is: transportation is the most important part of human development, and the combination of light travel, environmentally friendly and healthy travel and technology must be the future.

"The future of Chinese manufacturing should not just be about selling goods (emphasizing cost-effectiveness), but about making good products and creating good brands." In He Qin's view, the future of Chinese manufacturing should be "Chinese is global", but it must be based on the premise of focusing on making products and looking up at brands, as well as how to truly understand the needs of the target market and make products based on the needs. "Frankly speaking, these points are not easy for Chinese companies going overseas because of differences and barriers in habits and culture."

In December 2022, the first prototype of Kuiperbelt rolled off the production line, and the company was officially established. In 2023, the product debuted at the Shanghai Bicycle Expo, and participated in the EUROBIKE European Bicycle Expo and the Milan EICMA International Two-Wheeled Vehicle Exhibition. In November of the same year, the dealer delivered the sample and started small-scale trial production, and in January 2024, it was officially delivered in batches to European dealers.

Positioning itself as the SUV of the eBike world, Kuiperbelt hopes to create a two-wheeled lifestyle system

Are “Made in China” eBikes only competitive on price? In He Qin’s opinion, of course not.

Depending on the positioning, the price of mainstream eBikes ranges from US$1,000 to US$5,000, while eBike brands originating from China often choose to take the cost-effective route, with prices mostly within US$2,000.

However, Kuiperbelt's first product, S1, is directly positioned at the mid-to-high-end price line of 2,500 Euros with its innovative vehicle design, all-road performance and open expansion performance. "In the beginning, I was actually a little nervous, after all, I took a different path, but it is gratifying that our strategy and products have been recognized and respected by both the industry and consumers. Everyone thinks that Kuiperbelt is a European company founded by a group of Chinese people," said He Qin. "What's interesting is that dealers are encouraging us to have a higher price positioning for future products, which is far beyond my expectation, because they think consumers are more willing to pay more for good products."

The decision to go mid-to-high-end is based on Kuiperbelt's insight into user needs. "Many customers have eBikes, cargo eBikes, and mountain bikes at home," said He Qin. They were wondering if they could make a vehicle that could meet most daily usage scenarios. On this basis, Kuiperbelt proposed the "SUB" product concept.

"People first used cars as a means of transportation. As they became more dependent on cars and their life scenarios expanded, you'll find that SUVs are still the mainstream incremental model in the car market." He Qin told 36Kr that the development logic from cars to SUVs is actually the promotion of lifestyle by technology and products, and it should also be natural to apply this to eBikes.

Due to the differences in exchange rates and CPI, some people used to think that the market share of mid- to high-end eBikes was not high. However, according to an industry report, eBikes with a unit price of more than US$2,000 contributed more than 40% of sales, and the transaction volume accounted for more than 60% of the overall market transaction volume. Earlier this month, DJI also released its electric power system "DJI Avinox" for mid- to high-end eBikes at the European Bike Show.

With rising energy costs, green travel concepts and the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, eBikes are replacing fuel vehicles and becoming a new choice for urban transportation. However, different terrains, weather and life scenarios have different functional requirements for eBikes.

Kuiperbelt chooses to develop the original vehicle by itself. DFS (Diamond Frame System) unifies ergonomics, vehicle performance and expansion capabilities; ATC (All-terrain capability) adopts wide tire design, adjusts the brake and shock absorption system according to the all-weather and all-road capabilities, and meets the diverse needs of rainy, snowy and urban road systems; CSS (Cycling safety system) efficient braking system, daytime running system, automatic headlights and other configurations, combined with high-strength body, improve safety; of course, HPS (High-efficiency power system) is the guarantee of some of the above.

Positioning the life system, Kuiperbelt has launched a series of accessories through highly modular design to meet all scenarios such as commuting, shopping, walking children, fishing, skiing, carrying, picnics, etc. For example, they have launched a multi-functional bracket that can meet the needs of skiing, fishing, ice hockey, hunting, golf, etc. by freely switching modules. It is reported that new exclusive accessories are still under development.

Kuiperbelt product image, provided by the interviewee

It is reported that Kuiperbelt has been adhering to the concept of sustainable development and practicing product sustainability since its inception. "The best sustainability is highly reliable and durable products": reducing carbon footprint in production, logistics and sales, using recyclable or recycled materials as much as possible, reducing the use of plastic in packaging, and using energy-saving transportation methods such as electrified railways and electric trucks.

The brand name of Kuiperbelt is an astronomical term, which means "Kuiper Belt", which is the asteroid belt outside the eight planets in the solar system. When talking about the origin of the brand name, He Qin told 36Kr that the Kuiper Belt revolves around the sun forever, just like the wheel of Kuiperbelt. The sun is the source of light and energy for the entire solar system, and it is also the beginning of a good life for mankind. Kuiperbelt will revolve around a good life forever.

“A European company founded by a group of Chinese”

"Kuiperbelt is our partner, not a competitor from China." He Qin mentioned that on the last day of his recent business trip to Europe, he was in the Netherlands and attended a meeting with an eBike industry alliance. When he heard the organizers say this, he said he was very excited because in an organization of all European companies, a group of Chinese entrepreneurial projects were recognized in this way.

“For global brands, the most important thing is how to think about the market with a localized mindset. This is a skill as well as a threshold. To achieve this, it is not just about language skills but deep cognitive abilities,” is how He Qin views localization.

Whether in terms of market, consumer, aesthetics, or regulation, the European and American markets are very different from China. "Selling goods" is no problem, because it meets basic needs, but building a brand requires serious consideration. Since entering the market, Kuiperbelt has been able to cover the entire Western European market in just a few months without any marketing investment, and has quickly entered the mainstream dealer system and gained recognition from users.

"To put it simply, it is localization, telling stories that everyone can understand in a context that everyone is willing to listen to." He Qin said, but it is not easy to actually do it, because cultural differences are always a gap that cannot be avoided, which is particularly challenging for the team's basic cognition and cultural inclusiveness.

In He Qin's opinion, when building a global brand, we must pay attention to the following points: brand localization, marketing localization, service localization, and context localization. Only in this way can consumers truly recognize the added value of the brand, rather than falling into a vortex of pure price comparison.

"As Kuiperbelt enters North America, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and more countries in the future, it will be extremely important for the brand and service to be implemented."

Starting in the “Benelux” market: the distribution system is the core

According to statista, the E-bike market is expected to increase from $29.2 billion in 2022 to $62.2 billion in 2030, and the global electric bicycle market is expected to reach about 77.3 million units. The compound annual growth rate is expected to be nearly 10% from 2022 to 2030. The European market size in 2022 is about $8.5 billion, and it is expected to grow fastest. By 2030, the market size will double from 2022 to about $19.9 billion.

Different from many brands that started in North America, Kuiperbelt chose to start in Europe and deeply cultivate the local market.

Europe is one of the largest market players for eBike, with high bicycle road rights, a large user base and high spending power, but market competition is also more intense, which poses more challenges to product strength, and the relevant laws and regulations are more stringent. Due to historical and cultural differences, different countries have different regulations based on EU regulations, and the entry threshold is very high. "Since I was a child, I took exams and unlike many of my classmates who did simple questions first, I preferred to solve the difficult questions first. Of course, this requires full confidence."

Kuiperbelt chose the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg as its first stop in Europe, because for Europe, the largest market for eBike, the Benelux region is undoubtedly the commanding heights, a veritable kingdom of bicycles, and of course the most competitive. It is worth mentioning that the etymology of "kuiper" is Dutch, and the Dutch are very familiar with this word, and surprisingly feel a little close to it.

Kuiperbelt entered the European eBike market through offline stores through dealers. It is reported that as many as 79% of European eBike sales are completed in offline stores. This is also the reason why Kuiperbelt insists on the distribution system. Europeans are relatively rational in consumption. For mid-to-high-end products, they prefer to see things and experience them in person before buying.

Kuiperbelt product image, provided by the interviewee

"We visited many community stores, some of which have been open for 50 years, and stores that are 10 years old are relatively young." He Qin told 36Kr that he had observed two community bicycle stores in the small German town of Walldorf and found that "the product positioning differentiation is visible to the naked eye." Customers and store owners are all community residents with a long-term sense of trust and a mature community ecology. Purchases, repairs and maintenance in the community are all nearby.

The European market also has a more prominent demand for mid- to high-end eBikes. He Qin found during his visit to the local market that some bike shops would not sell bikes below 1,500 euros. An important reason is that in high-consumption countries such as the Netherlands, Germany, and Sweden, labor costs are relatively high. The maintenance cost of a bike is about 80 euros, and the later costs are high. Compared with the pursuit of cheapness, they are more willing to consume economical, durable, reliable and well-equipped after-sales products.

Because of this, Kuiperbelt chose to work closely with local dealers to establish an after-sales system based on dealers, respond to customer needs nearby, avoid lengthy factory repairs, and extend the service radius through independent sites. In He Qin's view, product delivery is just the beginning, and the construction of after-sales service system and accessories system is the key, which is also necessary to build user trust and expand brand power.

In terms of the team, the COO is a senior expert in international manufacturing and supply chain, and has worked for Jianxin New Materials, Jabil Electronics, Philips Semiconductors, Harris Communications and other companies. CPO Liu Binquan was the product director of Emma and established a design studio to provide product solutions for Niu and Yadi. The CMO has 15 years of management consulting, user insight and marketing experience. Kuiperbelt established its global operations headquarters in Sweden, and its product R&D and manufacturing center was located in Wuxi.

Since the first batch of production vehicles was delivered to dealers in January 2024, kuiperbelt has successively entered major European eBike markets such as the Netherlands, Germany, France, Sweden, and Spain, and established cooperation with MediaMarkt, one of the largest electrical retailers in Europe, and BikeNation, Sweden's largest independent bicycle shop retail network.

Based on the first S1, kuiperbelt's S series will launch the mid-motor upgraded version S2 at the end of the year; and will also release the X series with family-oriented carrying capacity at the end of the year, positioned as the pickup truck in the eBike industry.

Kuiperbelt is currently conducting a new round of financing, and Zhuri Capital will serve as the financial advisor for the financing.