The French giant of small household appliances SEB will manufacture in France from the summer a high-end electric bike designed by the new start-up of the investor Marc Simoncini, founder of the Meetic dating site, announced the two companies.
The Covid-19 pandemic, which pushes many urban dwellers to abandon public transport to favor cycling in particular, has caused a surge in demand and made a partnership necessary. Angell now expects 10,000 units in the first year from an initial target of 1,500, and around 60,000 in the first three years. " Since the confinement, we have multiplied our order volumes by three, " explains the co-founder.
The bicycle, sold for almost 2,700 euros, claims two-thirds of its value made in France, including the software part. It will be assembled in the SEB factory in Is-sur-Tille (Côte-d'Or), about 25 km north of Dijon. The objective is to be able to deliver in ten days from September. The project could represent in a first phase about fifty jobs for the production and about fifteen people for the software part, without counting the subcontracting.
In a market largely dominated by Asian manufacturers, " it seemed interesting to us to be able to help keep and develop industrial know-how in France, " said Thierry de La Tour d'Artaise, CEO of the SEB group, which has around thirty '' other brands of household appliances (including Tefal, Rowenta, Moulinex, Krups) and eleven factories in France.