UBCO, a specialist in utility electric vehicles, has raised USD10 million by bringing on board investors Oregon based Seven Peak Ventures, Nuance Capital, global technology powerhouse TPK Holdings.
This USD10 million funding comes off the back of a strong year for UBCO, including expansion across new and existing markets and the introduction of its subscription service. UBCO will use the funding to help continue scaling into the US, which will be its biggest market, focusing on the food delivery, postal, agriculture and last mile sectors. Already a large proportion of customers use UBCO vehicles for work in the gig economy across the US.
Timothy Allan, co-founder and CEO, says: “We’ve reached a landmark point in our growth journey and are particularly excited about what these strategic global investors bring to the table during this phase for our business – technology leadership, production expertise and international connections. We’re thrilled to continue rapidly growing our business globally and the expertise and capability of these new investors will help us achieve our vision.”
As appetite grows for sustainable transport options, UBCO provides electric utility vehicles that are tough, lightweight, quiet, sustainable and safe to use. With EV adoption expected to grow over 10 times in the next 10 years, UBCO is proving to be the preferred choice for many applications both on and off the road. Its hero product, the UBCO 2X2, is an all-wheel drive electric motorbike and is used from postal and food delivery to agriculture and much more.
The 2X2 is no ordinary bike – it’s an intelligent EV platform that includes vehicle and power systems, telemetry, cloud connectivity and data analysis. This enables UBCO to disrupt the conventional business model through subscription where instead of buying it outright, businesses and consumers pay a subscription covering the vehicle, battery and servicing while UBCO retains ownership and stewardship. UBCO predict this model will increase vehicle lifespan four times and produce 80% less carbon (during use) compared to a combustion vehicle, thus making the vehicles a more sustainable transport option.
Dino Vendetti, Managing Director of Oregon based venture firm, Seven Peak Ventures, says: “UBCO has responded to a global opportunity as the adoption of EV accelerates and customers demand more sustainable and safe transport options. The US market has huge growth potential across many applications and UBCO will become more relevant than ever. We’re looking forward to supporting the team as they grow into a global category leader from NZ.”
“Nuance Capital is focused on empowering Kiwi solutions to help solve global problems designed to improve the planet and the way people live on it. With their successful track record of innovative solutions for sustainable transport, UBCO was an easy choice for our first investment. We are excited to connect them to our global network as we help them scale into new international markets,” says Adrien Gheur, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Nuance Capital.
Freddie Liu, Chief Financial Officer of Taiwan-based TPK Holding, says: “UBCO is leading the utility electric vehicle industry into a new era of sustainability, intelligence, data and cloud capabilities. As strategic partners, we’re proud to be providing UBCO with our unparalleled supply chain network as the business enters its most exciting growth chapter yet.”
UBCO was founded in 2015 by Daryl Neal, Anthony Clyde and Timothy Allan, and has scaled rapidly over the past 12 months, already doubling staff numbers in 2021 and expecting to triple the following year. Revenue is forecast to climb from USD3 million NZD in 2020 to over USD12 million NZD revenue in the next year with an increase in annual recurring revenue through subscriptions.
