The advantages of a bicycle over other types of transportation are obvious: it is cheaper, easier to use, and does not require a driver’s license or fuel. Delfast, a Ukrainian company, created an e-bike that can go farther than any other bike in the world on one battery charge.
The electric bicycle market is one of the fastest growing segments of two-wheeled vehicles, and is expected to show double-digit growth by 2025, reaching approximately $ 39 billion.
Delfast is a young and ambitious company that began its business operations as a unique service for delivering goods during only 1 hour in Kyiv city and using Chinese electric bicycles in 2014. Danylo Tonkopiy, the founder, recounts that it was important for him to use an eco-friendly type of transportation for his business. Delfast began selling e-bikes of its own design in 2016.
My father is an ecology professor, and my childhood books were about environmental problems in the region. I am a fan of electric vehicles so there was no question what to ride on and deliver with.
Danylo Tonkopiy
Standard electric bikes can go 30-40 kilometres on one battery charge. That is why the company decided to create its own electric bike. They invited Ukrainian engineers to work on research and development. In time, they accomplished the impossible:
Delfast – the e-bike can go for 236 miles on one charge.
Guinness World Records holder - "Longest distance travelled by e-bike without recharging (367 km in 2017)". The maximum speed of the Delfast bike is 80 kilometers per hour.
Some figures. In 2018, the company's turnover amounted to $125,000, in 2019 - $552,000, in 2020 it is expected to be $1,000,000; the forecast for 2021 is $20,000,000.
Mexicali PD received the first Delfast e-bikes for street patrolling. Right now, Top 3.0 is being shipped across the American PDs for test drives.
Delfast electric bikes, developed by a team of professional designers and engineers, offer the latest technology, unlike anything else on the market. They have already secured three patents, and about ten more are pending. In total, over a hundred unique engineering solutions are used in this bike.
- Power reserve. The patented battery management system, motor controller and other components increase mileage by 30%.
- Power. Integrated intelligent energy recovery technology makes the engine more powerful and regenerates energy when braking.
- Mobile application and personal web account. Allow to stay connected and analyse GPS, speed, telemetry and other data. Smart security system and alarm for extra security.
- Data analysis system. The patented loT module uses our own software and mobile application to optimize the system and increase efficiency.
We're raising money for the complete localization of production in Ukraine. This will reduce the cost of bikes by 35%, ship to all countries and meet the demand that we have already received.
Danylo Tonkopiy
According to him, investors can invest in Delfast any amount from $10 thousand to $1 million. When the company fulfills orders for $120 million, investors will return their investments "with a very good multiplier."
We have received bids for Delfast bikes in the amount of over $120 million. Therefore, we are raising investments to start production and fulfill all orders. To do this, we need $3 million ... Already 15 investors have signed contracts for about $600 thousand, and another large investor signed an option (investment right) for $1 million.
Danylo Tonkopiy
He also said that Delfast electric bikes are now being produced in China, but the company wants to open an R&D center for the development and small-scale production of electric bikes in Ukraine.
In April 2020, the Ukrainian startup Delfast Bikes received a grant from USAID's Competitive Economy of Ukraine program in the amount of over UAH 3 million for the development and production of a three-wheeled electric bike Delfast Trike for couriers and delivery services with increased carrying capacity.
In February 2020, Delfast Bikes, together with 14 more startups that represented Ukraine at the 10th Startup Grind Global-2020 global conference of entrepreneurs and investors in Silicon Valley, was among the three Ukrainian finalists in the Startup Grind Global acceleration program.
Electric bicycles do not pollute the air. Due to this fact, more people are choosing them over other means of transportation. According to the forecast of Electric Bikes Worldwide Reports, by 2050 approximately every fourth person on earth will have an electric bicycle.
For 2021 Delfast is focusing its sales activities on one specific model, the Top 3.0 with a 321 Km range, a top speed of 80 Km/h and an unladen weight of 70 Kgs.Â
