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VanMoof raises a record amount of 128 million dollars for bicycle builders in a third financing round. That fresh money should make it possible to sell at least 10 million trendy e-bikes in the next five years.
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The money comes from a range of international investors. The capital round is led by the Chinese investment fund Hillhouse, which opened earlier this year de huishoudelektronicadivisie from Philips for 3.7 billion euros. Gillian Tans, the former CEO of the hotel booking site Booking.com, is also participating in the capital round.
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$128 million is an unprecedented amount among electric bicycle makers. Until now, capital injections were limited to a maximum of several tens of millions of euros.
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VanMoof was founded twelve years ago by the brothers Ties and Taco Carlier. For two years now they only sell electric bicycles. They distinguish themselves from other manufacturers of electric bicycles with their sleek design and their own bicycle factory in Taiwan. While many bicycle repair shops purchase their parts from major brands such as Shimano and Bosch, VanMoof makes everything itself.
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The new capital round follows the second round in which VanMoof raised $ 40 million last year. In total, the Dutch company raised 182 million dollars (154 million euros) in recent years.
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10 million bicycles
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With the new money, VanMoof’s production must be scaled up quickly. The company aims to sell at least 10 million electric bicycles in the next five years. That is a giant leap compared to the 155,000 bicycles that Vanmoof has sold in total since 2009. Last year the company made a turnover of about 70 million euros and had about 500 employees.
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Electric city bikes have certainly received a huge boost since the corona crisis. City dwellers were looking for an alternative to previously crowded buses, trams and metros and found it in electric bicycles. VanMoof refers to studies that predict that the global electric bicycle market will double to nearly $50 billion by 2028. The electric bicycle is on the rise, especially in the United States.
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