The international electric micromobility promotion platform e-scooter.co launched an import intermediary platform that enables local sellers and international logistics specialists to service customers that want to import an electric vehicle from other countries.

e-scooter.co started to accept import purchase requests about 1.5 years ago and over 30,000 people have submitted a request since, with over 12 requests pending from the countries Pilipinas with a combined revenue of ₱2,539,417, which excludes revenue from additional services that can be sold to customers such as insurance, finance, maintenance service and the primary import service fee, which may double the revenue potential with a high profit margin.

Why Electric Vehicles Face Difficulties

There are various reasons why electric micromobility products face great difficulties to enter the market despite their great advantages such as significant cost-saving for owners.

For example, electric scooters and mopeds literally save up to 90% of maintenance costs which undermines the business model of the existing sales infrastructure of petrol-engine based vehicles, hindering those established outlets to sell electric models.

Manufacturing Disruption

While the existing petrol-engine based service infrastructure can't financially sustain itself with electric models from established brands, the brands themselves face profound disruption from the much bigger component industry that enables smaller startups to create high quality mobility products.

For example, the 🇩🇪 German brand Bosch has been developing advanced and reliable electric motor kits that includes a dashboard and electrical system and the innovative startup Edison Motors from 🇹🇭 Thailand launched a scooter barebone platform that enables other startups to create new models.

The manufacturing scale 3D printing industry causes further disruption in this space.

Big Petrol Brands Not Motivated to Enter The Market

The manufacturing disruption trajectory caused big brands early on in 2010-2015 to make a hard decision to not enter the electric vehicle market, or to enter it in a way that didn't unlock its full potential for the greatest possible market.

Some have criticized 🇮🇹 Italian Vespa-Piaggio for example for introducing an electric model that costs twice as much as the petrol version for an effective driving range of only 60 km while advertising a driving range of 100 km, and while not having a removable battery.

By comparison, the petrol version of the same Vespa model has a reliable driving range of 280 km and Vespa is unlikely to have failed to deliver on the electric driving range by accident.

In practice, this electric vehicle largely stimulated the sales of petrol models on economic grounds and is likely to have been introduced for that purpose despite that some people have been happy to pay ₱420,925 for an iconic electric Vespa while the petrol version costs ₱210,463.

Scared away from both ends

Small disruptors scared of going global

While established big brands were financially reluctant to enter the market in the first place, smaller startups (manufacturing disruptors), due to scale-ing and logistics related problems, often remained limited to sales in a single country or a small region.

As an example, the unique Carver scooter-car or the GiGi foldable moped from the 🇳🇱 Netherlands are not yet sold internationally while there has been a significant demand for over a decade. In the 🇺🇸 US alone over ₱63,734,437 in orders for the Carver were sent in on e-scooter.co and someone from 🇮🇳 India sent the following message in his purchase request on March 1, 2025.

I want carver in India

An interaction with the founder of Dutch startup GiGi learned that the company initially had high ambitions but ultimately was scared away from selling internationally.

Selling can be easy but what if something breaks? Then there has to be a local party that can provide service. We do have the EEC certificates but we only want to enter a market when we are financially ready for it.

This line of reasoning makes sense and is common from the perspective of small manufacturers but the problem for international access for customers is that this line of reasoning intensifies over time when a manufacturer aspires to improve its quality and service.

In practice, this results in a high potential vehicle not becoming available in other countries, despite potential high demand.

GiGi, one of the first electric moped pioneers in the Netherlands with high international ambitions and EEC certificates, now decades later, never went beyond the Dutch border.

A Solution For The Market

Connecting Buyers with Import Intermediary's

The simple function of the e-scooter.co platform is to connect import intermediary's (sellers, importers or logistics specialists) with buyers. Quality service and reliable business are ensured through Escrow payment by the customer.

An example customer review reveals how the service might work in practice:

(halimbawang review) Natanggap ko ang pinakabagong Gogoro Pulse Hyperscooter sa Netherlands ngayon sa pamamagitan ng Uship.com transport arrangement kasama ang isang transporter mula Vietnam na may ekstrang espasyo sa kanilang shipment mula Taiwan patungong Rotterdam.

Ang scooter ay inihatid sa aking tahanan at ang proseso ng pagbili ay eksaktong tulad ng napagkasunduan sa import intermediary na tumugon sa aking purchase request sa e-scooter.co.

Ang pagrehistro ng scooter sa Netherlands ay nangangailangan ng mas maraming papeles, pero natapos din. Ang kabuuang halaga na aking binayaran ay mas mababa kaysa presyo ng bagong Vespa Elettrica sa aking bansa.

Nakakamanghang isipin na ako ang unang nakapagmaneho ng scooter na ito sa Netherlands ngayon! Mas mabilis ang arangkada ng Gogoro Pulse Hyperscooter kaysa karamihan ng mga kotse dito, at ginawa ito ng Gogoro na madaling imaintain gamit ang European parts sa anumang motorcycle shop, kaya abot-kaya at madali ang maintenance.

Isang masayang customer!

A Simple Business Model

Kapalit ng access sa pinakabagong modelo mula sa buong mundo, pananagutan ng customer ang warranty, serbisyo at rehistrasyon sa kanilang bansa. Tinatanggap din ng customer na iwaksi ang warranty service ng manufacturer kung itatanggi ito ng manufacturer sa partikular na bansa.

Ang resulta ay simpleng modelo ng transaksyon: babayaran ng customer ang pagdedeliver ng sasakyan. Kapag natapos na ang serbisyong iyon, kumpleto na ang transaksyon at walang panganib sa pangmatagalang kasiyahan ng customer at mga problemang may kinalaman sa serbisyo.

Masaya ang mga customer at magiging epektibo ang kanilang mobility solution

Sa praktika, napatunayan na ang mga de-kuryenteng sasakyan ay lubos na maaasahan at nangangailangan ng hanggang 90% na mas kaunting maintenance.

Bukod sa basic maintenance service, ang karamihan ng electric scooter at moped ay patuloy na gagana nang madali sa loob ng mga dekada nang walang karagdagang maintenance. Hindi madaling masira ang electrical system at ang mga modernong sasakyan ay IP-certified na water at dust proof upang magtagal ng mga dekada.

Ang electric motor sa micro mobility ay halos hindi nasisira at bihirang may problema sa pagdedeliver. Ang electric motor ay madaling tatagal ng 50 taon nang walang maintenance.

Ang mga modernong de-kuryenteng sasakyan ay tumatanggap ng over-the-air maintenance service mula sa manufacturer na may kasamang software updates, vehicle health monitoring at pro-active warnings para manatiling maayos ang sasakyan. Dagdag itong magtitiyak ng matibay at epektibong mobility solution sa praktika para sa mga customer, kahit walang seguridad ng factory warranty service.

Ang matalinong paggamit ng modernong serbisyo ay magpapadali sa international logistics

Ang mga serbisyong tulad ng UShip.com ay nagpapadali sa pagpapadala ng mga sasakyan sa buong mundo nang mababa ang gastos. Sa Uship, ang mga international transporter na may ekstrang espasyo ay maaaring punan ang kanilang espasyo ng mga indibidwal na order mula sa customer, tulad ng electric scooter o moped mula sa dealer sa Thailand patungo sa customer sa Germany.

Ang rehistrasyon ng ilang sasakyan ay maaaring mahirap sa ilang bansa, ngunit sa bawat tagumpay ay mas mabilis ang susunod na progreso at hindi kinakailangang magbigay ng serbisyong ito sa mga customer.

Malaking Kita at Potensyal sa Kita

Ang pag-import ng mga modelong hindi available sa isang bansa ay eksklusibo para sa mga customer, at handang magbayad ang mga customer ng mataas na presyo para makuha ang gustong modelo ngayon.

Buong Kontrol

The intermediary is in full control and owns the customer relationship from the start.

e-scooter.co is not involved in financial transactions between businesses and the customer. A third-party Escrow service is strongly advised by the platform to protect both buyers and sellers, but when customers trust the intermediary they may decide to pay to them directly.

Access to Customers

e-scooter.co charges intermediary's a yearly subscription fee for ongoing access to new customers. On a daily basis, many new customer requests are sent in that can be serviced, resulting in a multi-million USD business opportunity.

Businesses can apply for access on the following URL:

https://ph.e-scooter.co/requests/

A list with top requested models and basic market analysis is available on this page