It is not possible to talk about the future of transportation without the word ‘electrification’ entering the conversation. Major markets – from the U.S. to Europe to China – are embracing electric vehicles (EVs), governments across the world are setting targets for the phasing out of fossil fuel-powered vehicles, and leading ‘traditional’ carmakers – and a host of start-ups – are busy chasing after Tesla in the race to find a place in the shifting world order.

Electrification goes beyond the headline-grabbing passenger car sector, of course. From heavy-duty trucks to buses to vans to motorcycles to scooters, every sector of the transportation/mobility landscape is going through the electric revolution, and once we have come out on the other side, it is likely that every area of the mobility sector will involve us driving or riding vehicles powered by electrons.

While Australia has been slower than many developed nations in embracing electric vehicles, there are those in the country who recognise the opportunities the electric transformation offers and are building businesses geared to be market leaders not only in the local market but, potentially, on a global scale.

One such business is Benzina Zero, a Brisbane-based start-up company which, in September, is set to launch a range of battery-electric scooters and mopeds into the Australian market. The company was founded by Joe D’Ercole and Ben Silver – two entrepreneurs with a long history in the two-wheel vehicle sector, a shared passion for that sector’s electrified future and the benefits it offers, and who have spent the past couple of years putting in place the foundations for their company to have an international reach.

The company, which will have its HQ in Brisbane, has already set up shop in Italy – where its European base is in the city of Vasto in the Abruzzo region – and is in the process of finalising agreements in Europe.

At launch, Benzina Zero – which takes its name from the combination of the Italian word for petrol and its mission to sell zero-emission vehicles – will offer a suite of products designed to cover a range of requirements, from personal commuting to urban and last-mile delivery, and includes four two-wheel electric-motor scooter and moped models, plus a three-wheel model. These are the City moped and the Sport scooter aimed at the commuter sector; the Duo moped and Duo+ scooter aimed at the delivery sector; and the Aidea three-wheel delivery scooter.

Apart from the Aidea scooter, which will be imported from Japan, all the City/Duo models are manufactured in China – the epicentre of the electric vehicle revolution – and have been developed with a good deal of input from the Benzina Zero team. That input has resulted, said Ben, in a range of vehicles that are of the highest quality; that offer class-leading range; excellent speed, power and carrying capacity; that use Bosch motors, LG batteries, and disc brakes; are European certified; and can be tailored to meet a range of customer demands.

The Duo+, for example, can be adapted to fill just about any requirement.

“That product offers plenty of options,” said Ben. “It can be a bare-bones bike to ride on, you can have it with some basic racks, do your shopping on it, deliver things with it, go to the beach on it. There’s almost nothing you can’t do with it.”

Quality and simplicity has been the name of the game for Joe, Ben and the Benzina Zero team. The scooters and mopeds in the range have been designed with quality components and ease of use in mind, and this is reflected in battery recharging technology that is simple and convenient.

“We have both swap-and-go batteries and the ability to plug into a 240-volt wall socket for charging, and there’s no requirement for a special wall charger,” said Joe. “You can either plug the bike into the wall in the garage or, if you are parked on the street, you can take the battery out and recharge it in the house. We wanted to be able to offer that flexibility.”

The genesis of Benzina Zero can be found in the past work of both Joe and Ben. In 2000, Joe, a motor mechanic by trade, founded Scooterlife Australia, a business that would incorporate Scootopia – a standalone scooter store in Brisbane that became the largest scooter retailer in Australia. Ben joined Scooterlife in 2005 and would become general sales manager with the company.

By 2014, after more than a decade of success, public interest in scooters and mopeds had begun to wane and Joe refocused on other business interests. Ben, meanwhile, would move on to live in NSW and work in the automotive sector as nationally awarded sales manager with Holden and explore interests in sustainable living and the environment.

The two stayed in touch, their shared passion for scooters and mopeds never dimming, and they continued to keep an eye on the scooter/moped market, actively researching new vehicles being developed.

It soon became clear that changes in public sentiment and general purchasing habits were set to make a return to the market a viable proposition – and these changes tied in nicely with Joe and Ben’s environmentally conscious outlook.

In particular, said Ben, was the entry into the Australian market of certain online delivery platforms and the growing strength of the e-commerce market which has seen an increase in the demand for speedy delivery of goods. And while the onset of COVID-19 has been tremendously difficult for everyone, it has also seen a growing interest in personal transportation over public transport.

“If we look at Australia specifically, Covid brought into people’s awareness things like personal space and social distancing,” said Ben.

“The other thing is, in the last few years, we’ve had businesses such as Uber Eats appear. They weren’t around a decade ago, and so we’ve seen a lot of uptake (in efficient delivery vehicles) there.”

Covid has also had an effect on pollution, with lockdowns and curbs on travel reportedly sparking significant reductions in air pollution, particularly in cities. This has, said Ben, played its part in bringing environmental issues into focus, and the environmental benefits of electric vehicles is an important aspect of the Benzina Zero brand. While the company is launching into the market with a portfolio of robust, cheap-to-run, quality vehicles that emit zero emissions – and those elements alone make it a responsible commercial outfit – it can boast perhaps the ‘greenest’ of environmental credentials.

Firstly, the company has partnered with Greenfleet – a not-for-profit organisation that plants native biodiverse forests in Australia to capture carbon emissions on behalf of its supporters. The partnership will see Benzina Zero/Greenfleet be responsible for the regeneration of one square metre of land for every vehicle they sell.

“This was really important to us,” said Joe. “We want to give back through what we do, and for it to be a transparent process, and so one square metre of land will be regenerated for every bike we sell globally. And that regeneration will be done in Australia regardless of where we sell the bikes.”

Secondly, Benzina Zero is preparing a program through which every customer can be certain that their vehicle will, at the end of its usable life, be completely recycled.

“We know that an EV has a lifespan about three times that of a petrol equivalent, so we can already ensure the bike will last longer,” said Ben. “But we want to be able to close the loop on our product, so that when it gets to the end of its life, we are able to recycle it.

“We have found a company in Australia that works in every state and territory, and which can take the bike and recycle every single part of it – from the computer elements to the motor, from the lithium battery to the metal frame.

“We wanted to have responsibility for our product through its life, and we are mandating through our distributor agreements with our other importers that they do the same in their country.”

With a launch date slated for September this year, Joe and Ben have their eye set on expanding swiftly.

“Within the next 12 months, we are aiming to have a good dealer support network up and running across Australia and New Zealand,” said Joe. “We already have a team in place in Italy, and by the end of the year other countries will come online. The goal is that within five years we will be up and running in about 30 countries.”

It’s an ambitious plan, but at a time when transportation is shifting inexorably to electrification, it could well be the right time.

“When you ask where the market is going, you can’t see any other answer other than it will be zero emissions,” said Ben. “The shift to electric vehicles is as fundamental a shift as it was moving from horses to cars. It will revolutionise how we move and how we think about transportation and ownership.”

Benzina Zero already has had interest in securing key territories, but if you are interested in entering the electric vehicle market and becoming an outlet for the company’s model range, you can contact Joe and Ben at info@benzinazero.com or call +61 419 763 447.

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (July 2021)

8 July 2021