Real electric bike for just $472
Posted: Tue Mar 21, 2023 10:44 am
Before I start, I want to make clear, that I am working for Oyika, so even I start this post with a private intention, I think everyone should know, that I am not a neutral person on this. For everyone who thinks now: WTF is Oyika? Yes, awareness is one of our problems we are currently working on. Oyika is the company, that operates a battery swap system for electric 2 wheelers in Phnom Penh.
OK, so what is this all about? Currently Oyika has a deal running, to promote its brand and sells an electric motorbike for $590. This already quite good promotion runs until end of March, then the price will be back to $690. Now the mind blowing part comes: Government currently subsidizes electric vehicles, which gets the price down to just $472. Yes, no typo, not kidding: $472! This is really a once in a lifetime offer, I can not imagine anyone can ever beat this price again - not even the company itself. Ok, but what is the fineprint? One fineprint is, that the battery can not be charged at home, it uses the the swapstations of Oyika only (swapstation = empty battery in -> fully charged battery out within a minute). This clearly limits the range to Phnom Penh (and some parts of Kandal in the south). Of course, using this swap station infrastructure is not for free; currently there are 2 plans available for the swaps
1) $20 for 30 swaps (basically one swap per day)
2) $30 for unlimited swaps (aiming for delivery riders or other business related customers)
A concern I hear often, is that the prices for the swaps will go up in the future. Actually, the prices went down so far, from previous $29. If you think the $20 is still too expensive, think of how much money you spend on petrol, oil change and other engine related repairs and how much a new battery pack costs you (which is not a question with a swap system, since you get a new battery each time).
Range? Hehe, one of the most asked questions. When I answer "it doesn't matter", I always get puzzled faces. Very simple: the 45km to 55km range are not important, since the battery can get changed on demand within a minute or 2.
Again: this is a private post and was not discussed with the company at all. However I personally think this is a real killer deal and although I already have electric bikes, I will buy myself one of those (if one is left and like always heavily modify it, but that's a different story
)
OK, so what is this all about? Currently Oyika has a deal running, to promote its brand and sells an electric motorbike for $590. This already quite good promotion runs until end of March, then the price will be back to $690. Now the mind blowing part comes: Government currently subsidizes electric vehicles, which gets the price down to just $472. Yes, no typo, not kidding: $472! This is really a once in a lifetime offer, I can not imagine anyone can ever beat this price again - not even the company itself. Ok, but what is the fineprint? One fineprint is, that the battery can not be charged at home, it uses the the swapstations of Oyika only (swapstation = empty battery in -> fully charged battery out within a minute). This clearly limits the range to Phnom Penh (and some parts of Kandal in the south). Of course, using this swap station infrastructure is not for free; currently there are 2 plans available for the swaps
1) $20 for 30 swaps (basically one swap per day)
2) $30 for unlimited swaps (aiming for delivery riders or other business related customers)
A concern I hear often, is that the prices for the swaps will go up in the future. Actually, the prices went down so far, from previous $29. If you think the $20 is still too expensive, think of how much money you spend on petrol, oil change and other engine related repairs and how much a new battery pack costs you (which is not a question with a swap system, since you get a new battery each time).
Range? Hehe, one of the most asked questions. When I answer "it doesn't matter", I always get puzzled faces. Very simple: the 45km to 55km range are not important, since the battery can get changed on demand within a minute or 2.
Again: this is a private post and was not discussed with the company at all. However I personally think this is a real killer deal and although I already have electric bikes, I will buy myself one of those (if one is left and like always heavily modify it, but that's a different story
)
