VUF BIKES raises 3 million euros with very big ambitions!

The French startup, a pioneer in the construction of three-wheel scooters, is giving a boost to its growth.

An important fundraiser for VUF Bikes

VUF Bikes announces a fundraising of 3 million euros with the ambition of becoming the European reference for professional cargo bikes to decarbonize last-mile logistics. This new round of funding brings together investment funds: iXO Private Equity and Crédit Agricole Aquitaine Expansion and business angels from the Femmes Business Angels and We Like networks, as well as the historical investors of VUF Bikes: Julien Chaudeurge (founder of Babyzen), Timothée Malige (founder of Babyzen), Timothée Malige (founder of CGC Invest) and Jean-Christophe Kugler (former member of the executive committee of Renault).

What is a cargo bike?

VUF electrically-assisted cargo bikes are agile, large-capacity XXL three-wheelers, with perfect dimensions for urban use and with a load capacity of up to 150 kg and/or 1.5 m³. Scooters that are both light and resistant for intensive use by all urban professionals.

The aim of VUF Bikes

These funds will allow the company to:

• Develop and accelerate sales in France and on the European market.
• Increase the production capacity of the workshop to assemble 5000 cargo bikes per year.
• Strengthen your teams by recruiting new talent.
• Investing in Marketing to strengthen brand awareness and increase brand visibility.
• Imagine a new range of products to continue to best meet the needs of its customers.

“This fundraising is a decisive step for the development of VUF Bikes.

Faced with rising fuel prices, traffic congestion in urban areas and new climate challenges, urban professionals are looking for solutions. VUF Bikes is changing the game by offering them an innovative product. The use of our electric scooters allows them to decarbonize their business while improving their performance. Our VUFs drive at a speed of 25km/h and can use bike paths, bus corridors, drive in areas forbidden to cars and in low emission zones (ZFE)” underlines Thomas Chenut, CEO and Founder of VUF Bikes.

With a fundraising of 570,000 euros in December 2020, VUF Bikes has already enabled its users to avoid more than 265,000 kg of CO₂ emissions. With this new round of funding, the company wants to become the reference for zero-carbon commercial vehicles to disrupt the last-mile market. VUF Bikes is positioned as a real alternative to the commercial vehicle and accelerates the ecological transition of deliveries in urban areas.

Nicolas Olives, Investment Director at iXO Private Equity, comments: “More and more companies are thinking about how to change their urban logistics in order to ensure their deliveries or services. Whether it is to reduce their environmental impact or facilitate their approach to the heart of cities, we consider that the VUF Bikes offer is a relevant and appropriate response for many of them. In addition to the quality of the management team, this perspective of being able to support the leading potential of soft mobility aimed at professionals motivated our intervention within VUF Bikes. ”

In addition, innovation and made in France are an integral part of VUF Bikes's DNA.

The startup sources its products mainly from French manufacturers such as Abus, Aivee, Aivee, Effigear, Mach1, Velox... Historically, the company offered its customers three-wheel scooters, 75% of the value of which was realized in France. This fundraising was accompanied by the launch of a new partnership with the French automotive supplier Valeo. Now, VUF Bikes is the first scooter manufacturer to equip its bikes with the powerful Cyclee engine, which recently won an “Innovation Award”. By equipping its scooters with a French engine,

VUF Bikes now offers bikes where 90% of the value is realized in France!

Julien Chaudeurge, historical investor in VUF Bikes and founder of Babyzen, adds:“I am very happy to support the VUF Bikes teams again. Thomas and Anthony Chenut have shown a lot of mastery over the last two years and the recent partnerships with the La Poste group or with the equipment manufacturer Valeo at CES in Las Vegas show real potential for development in France and abroad! ”

A promising future!

In hypergrowth, the company multiplied its turnover by nine between 2020 and 2022. In addition, the startup has already increased its workforce by 56% compared to summer 2022 and plans

to recruit 10 new employees in 2023 to meet the demand of its customers and the needs of the European last-mile market.

As a pioneer manufacturer of cargo bikes, VUF Bikes provides fleets of tricycle scooters to the main players in the last-mile market operating for Amazon such as Urby, Ecolotrans, Tryphaz, Senges or Transcan. The startup is also proud to equip La Poste with innovative cargo bikes and the links between the two companies will continue to strengthen in 2023.

With the success of this fundraiser, VUF Bikes now has the opportunity to realize its ambition to become the European leader in the professional cargo bike market.

‍