Shan

[Shan Subramani]

Hi All,
I am an ex cyclists ( Junior National Champion) from India.

I am interested in setting up a Pedelecs assembly unit just outside London.

I would like to get some valuable advice from experts on the dos and dones. Especially on what I should import from India and what I should look local to keep it more British than an imported bike.

If I buy a complete bike with the motor what would be the customs duty. How about importing the assemblies or components. What would be the customs duty if I do so.

Do I have to have a separate certification or any regulatory bodies permission?

End of the day o want more bikers to buy in the UK. Do I need to know what works for them.

Your response would be very much appreciated.

Shan Subramani

Shan Subramani

 

[Woosh]

There was some Indian company who imported ebikes from India a few years back. It may have been Hero A2B.

 

[vfr400]

Hi All,
I am an ex cyclists ( Junior National Champion) from India.

I am interested in setting up a Pedelecs assembly unit just outside London.

I would like to get some valuable advice from experts on the dos and dones. Especially on what I should import from India and what I should look local to keep it more British than an imported bike.

If I buy a complete bike with the motor what would be the customs duty. How about importing the assemblies or components. What would be the customs duty if I do so.

Do I have to have a separate certification or any regulatory bodies permission?

End of the day o want more bikers to buy in the UK. Do I need to know what works for them.

Your response would be very much appreciated.

Shan Subramani

Shan Subramani

Why does it have to be near London? If you go to poorer areas, pemises and salaries will be cheaper and you might be able to get grants to help you start up.

 

[Shan Subramani]

Why does it have to be near London? If you go to poorer areas, pemises and salaries will be cheaper and you might be able to get grants to help you start up.

Thanks for your suggestion and it does make sense. Since, I live in London, I thought I would be easy to manage. However, if we know there is any unit that is available to buy or willing to join us. Then, why not.

Our intention is to start Small and grow Big.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Thanks for your suggestion and it does make sense. Since, I live in London, I thought I would be easy to manage. However, if we know there is any unit that is available to buy or willing to join us. Then, why not.

Our intention is to start Small and grow Big.

There might be many cheaper units in the commuter belt - but of course traffic is a nightmare, and you may have to get to your assembly facility using an ebike. Sadly, at the moment there are many large pubs and breweries going out of business, some may have a lot of floorspace. Pubs don't tend to sell as freehold, but it's worth bearing in mind that you don't have to restrict your search to factory units only (many different types of business are going but at the moment, so there's lots of choice) - however, you'd have to apply for/change planning permission if you used an old pub/brewery/other, and you'd have to be certain that permission would be granted, prior to buying or leasing it. You could deliver drinks from your new pub as a side business, using ebikes - I really don't know why more pubs don't deliver bottled drinks.

 

[vfr400]

last time I checked, you could get a small unit in telford for £100 per week and a double sized one for £200. In Hull or Cleethorpes, I can imagine that they would pay you to use one.

I haven't checked recently, but they used to give grants and free rent in assisted areas. Do some research.

UK Assisted Areas Map

This map shows the UK Assisted Areas for 2014-2020

www.ukassistedareasmap.com

State aid: guidance

Scottish Government guidance to help public sector bodies to understand and comply with state aid rules.

www.gov.scot

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Type of Coverage	NUTS Level	NUTS Code	NUTS Name	Large Enterprises	Medium Enterprises	Small Enterprises
‘a’ area	NUTS2	UKK3	Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly	25%​	35%​	45%​
‘a’ area	NUTS2	UKL1	West Wales and The Valleys	25%​	35%​	45%​
Predefined ‘c’ area (sparsely populated)	NUTS3	UKM61	Caithness & Sutherland and Ross & Cromarty	15%​	25%​	35%​
Predefined ‘c’ area (sparsely populated)	NUTS3	UKM63	Lochaber, Skye & Lochalsh, Arran & Cumbrae and Argyll & Bute	15%​	25%​	35%​
Predefined ‘c’ area (sparsely populated)	NUTS3	UKM64	Eilean Siar (Western Isles)	15%​	25%​	35%​
'c' area	NUTS1 & NUTS2	UKN0	Northern Ireland	10%​	20%​	30%​
Note: This information is out of date. The list is being reviewed and will be updated in due course.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/assisted-areas-map-2014-to-2020-stage-2

Lots of other info out there I'm sure, to peruse and plan with...

 

[Woosh]

If I buy a complete bike with the motor what would be the customs duty. How about importing the assemblies or components. What would be the customs duty if I do so.

if you import e-bikes from India, the duty rate for e-bikes is 6% on the goods + freight + insurance.
There is no anti-dumping levy to worry about.
Google HS code 8711601000 for more information.
If you import the sub-assemblies (frames, motors, batteries etc), the duty rates varies but averages out to about 4%.
When the bikes are assembled in India, the problems are sorted at source, you can expect 99% of the bike parts will be of acceptable quality, requiring only PDI (pre-delivery inspection) such as checking the paintwork, the electric connections, the gear indexing, the spoke tension, tyre pressure, brakes etc. which is fairly quick to do. Your dealers can do that for you if you want to offload that work to them.
If you assemble the bikes here, you need to factor in a range of risks: damage in transit, mistakes in your own workforce, mismatches between components (cables too long/short, wrong parts, faulty parts etc), inadequate tools.
They are usually too big issues for most small outfits. Also, the initial capital requirement is higher if you assemble locally.
You need more than double the space when you assemble locally.
My suggestion is don't go down the local assembly route.
I do that in Southend because I have no choice. I have been selling Chinese bikes for 11 years, so when anti-dumping was introduced, I was forced to do that and learned lessons the hard way.

 

[flecc]

There was some Indian company who imported ebikes from India a few years back. It may have been Hero A2B.

Hero of India did enter our market by buying A2B, but seemed to fail quite quickly.

A2B's market was impeded by their e-bikes not complying with the law and Hero compounded that by being very badly run. Such things as a website with no links making it impossible to find out how to buy one of their bikes!

To make things worse there was confusion between Ultra Motor, the parent company of A2B and another e-bike brand Urban Motor who marketed as UM.
.