Dutch e-bike makers VanMoof have landed a €12.5m investment from venture capital firms Balderton Capital and assembly partner Sinbon Electronics in a move to upscale production to meet growing international demand.

The current coronavirus crisis has fuelled the already growing popularity of e-bikes worldwide and the company is expecting to up its revenue for 2020 by €60m to €100m.

But in order to increase production the company needs the money and experience the firms can bring, company co-founder Taco Carlier told the Financieele Dagblad. The state-of-the art electric bikes are already being sold in cities worldwide, including New York and Tokyo.

Increased production will also make the bikes, which currently cost anything over €2,000, accessible to more people, Carlier said. ‘It’s our aim to make affordable, high quality e-bikes. It’s easy to make cheap shitty bikes, but that won’t promote cycling. And we want the world to cycle.’

Other Dutch bike-focused companies are expecting to profit as well from the newfound interest in safer transport options.