Accell North America Announces Formation of E-Bike Competence & Service Center

This is a press release from Currie Technologies.

The eBike category is beginning to show significant signs of emergence in the U.S. market and global eBike leader Accell Group is investing to further innovation and infrastructure in this important category through its North American arm, Accell North America (ANA).

The nation’s first Electric Bicycle Competence Center (EBCC-­NA) will launch April 30, 2014, as a brand-­new division within ANA. The timing of this important growth platform coincides with key eBike innovation from trusted ANA bike brands Raleigh, Lapierre and Diamondback, all planned for model year 2015 introduction.

The market expansion of electric-­assisted bicycles in North America continues to scale with a range of higher quality, premium products, which is the reasoning behind the decision for ANA to invest heavily in dedicated dealer support.

“We believe in the long-­term growth opportunity of electric bicycles in the North American market and we want our dealers positioned for success on the front end of that,” said Steve Meineke, CEO of ANA. “The aggressive investment in EBCC-­NA will yield an unmatched support platform and service foundation for ANA dealers, while at the same time, the innovation found in our new eBike products from Raleigh, Lapierre and Diamondback will create strong consumer demand.”

Meineke continued that the parent company of ANA, Accell Group (AG), has established best practices in infrastructure build out for eBike for consumers and dealers in Europe.

“The product innovation from our brands slated for launch this year, the proven solutions for eBike infrastructure provided by AG and the proven track record and leadership of Currie Tech within the North American eBike space adds up to a winning mix for our dealers,” Meineke said.

Specifically, EBCC-­NA will include support programs and services to dealers for a range of Raleigh, Lapierre and Diamondback eBikes.

EBCC-­NA will be located within Currie Technologies facility in Simi Valley, Calif. Larry Pizzi will lead the division as its managing director. Pizzi, president of Currie Tech, has been with the company since 2002 and has grown Currie Tech into the market leader in the professional development and service in the field of eBike components and electric bikes in the U.S. market. Currie Tech comprises, the leading eBike brands IZIP, eFlow and Haibike Xduro.

EBCC-­NA will provide dealer services including eBike research, design and development, design engineering, software development and reliability testing. Additionally EBCC-­NA will provide dealers with platform and support for eBike selling systems, technical training, technical support, after-­‐sale service and repair, spare parts distribution and lithium battery pack testing and services. Both web-­based and call-­center support for dealers and consumers will be launched, in advance of first shipments of the new products this summer.

EBCC-­NA is a truly unique resource that leverages Currie Tech’s 16 years of proven experience within the U.S. electric bike (eBike) space with the leadership of global eBike powerhouse Accell Group (AG), combined to benefit AG’s North American arm, Accell North America (ANA). Currie Tech’s experience will provide ANA brands and customers a true marketplace advantage in obtaining success in the fast-­growing eBike market. Resources provided include:

• R&D Center: Assuring safe and reliable leading-­edge technologies that have been thoroughly vetted, while maintaining the highest levels of performance and satisfying ride-­ability.

• Industrial design, mechanical and electrical engineering capabilities: Assuring optimum integration of electronic systems into a range of function-­specific electric bicycles that are uniquely built to perform to the pinnacle of U.S. and Canadian standards for electric assist bicycles.

• Drive systems software coding and development capabilities: Creating the “magic-­carpet” ride feel through proprietary system firmware development.

• Dealer Technical Support and Service Center: Vast on-­line technical resources, a highly trained call center and operation specialists will provide North America ANA customers with the highest level of support to assure speedy diagnosis and issue resolution.

• Spare Part Distribution Center: Supporting the product in the market with speed and efficiency to assure replacements as needed.

• Lithium Battery Pack Support and Service: Capabilities include testing, repair and after sale service assuring safety and long life.

• Quality Assurance Center: Extensive controls to verify specification, proper functionality and consistency with every production run.

• Field Support and Training Specialists: Regionally located demonstration and support fleet that provide field sales, merchandising and technical training to our dealers, along with product experience events for prospective dealers and consumers alike.

• Retail Customer Experience Center: To assure clear understanding of the consumer market, our retail experience center, including rental fleet and retail store operation, which provides us first hand experience and a clear path to customer feedback.

ABOUT ACCELL NORTH AMERICA (ANA) Accell North America is committed to leading in cycling innovation in product, brand and specialty business practices to grow Independent Bicycle Retail in North America.

Accell North America is the North American business entity of Accell Group, NV, Europe’s leading bicycle company.

Accell North America, located in Kent, Wash., is completely focused on growing the specialty bike business by providing excellence in customer service, product innovation, profitability and brand marketing on the regional and national level.

ABOUT CURRIE TECHNOLOGIES Currie Technologies®, an Accell Group company, is renowned for their large selection of stylish, premium quality and technologically advanced electric bicycles marketed under the IZIP and eFlow brand names. The company is also the exclusive distributor of Germany’s Haibike electric bikes.

Since 1997, Currie has been one of the oldest and most established U.S. developers and distributors of eBikes with a network of dealers nationwide, offering a selection of models to meet every riders need for cost-­effective transportation alternatives, recreation, exercise and just plain fun.

Currie Technologies of Southern California holds various patents on its products including their Electro-DriveTM Propulsion Systems, unique electric drive systems that provide superior performance and durability at a reasonable price.

To learn more about Currie Technologies® product lines, please visit www.currietech.com.

P.S. Don’t forget to join the Electric Bike Report community for updates from the electric bike world, plus ebike riding and maintenance tips!