Vmoto (ASX: VMT) has executed a key strategic joint venture with Riba Motos Industria e Comercio Ltda that will give the company a first mover advantage in the fast growing Brazilian electric scooter market.
No major electric two wheel manufacturer is yet present in Brazil, and it can take at least 18 months to gain the import approvals and nationalise the products, something Riba and Vmoto have already completed.
The partnership will give Vmoto a 30% equity interest in a minimum 12 year joint venture to assemble, market and sell new E-Max electric vehicles, products, parts, accessories and engineering applications in Brazil as well as co-developing new models for Brazil and other worldwide markets.
Importantly, the JV with Riba, a leading importer and distributor of new innovative technology in the two wheel sector, provides Vmoto with significant cost savings than if the company entered the new market on its own.
The deal provides Vmoto with access to an assembly facility with direct distribution to Latin America, the world’s second fastest growing electric scooter market.
Brazil is the fifth largest motorcycle market in the world. Electric scooter fleets alone are estimated to reach 500,000 units by 2017 without taking into account any of the private market.
Two years of preparations give Vmoto significant time advantages over any competitors and the financial commitment to the company is less than 200 scooters.
Michael Fulton, International Sales and Marketing manager for Vmoto, commented: “Brazil is very much a two wheel market, the speed of growth as a country is astonishing and their commitment, especially from fleet owners, to using electric vehicles in the future is both commendable and offers Vmoto the clear route for making very significant sales.”
Island Faria de Costa, managing director of RIBA MOTO, added: “The JV between RIBA and Vmoto is a breakthrough in commercial and industrial terms for both companies for the Brazilian and South American market.
“Joining forces reduces both time and costs, and takes advantage of the best of both companies – Vmoto’s technical and industrial expertise along with Riba’s knowledge of the Brazilian and South American Market.
“Our JV will benefit from credibility amongst governmental institutions and companies, as well as local suppliers and private companies.
“The Brazilian and South American market is booming with the potential of becoming one of the most important markets for electric vehicles waiting for the right players to make their stand. We are those players – companies in the right place at the right time.”
Key terms of JV
Under the JV, Vmoto will supply products or parts on a semi knocked down or completely knocked down basis, initially 50-200 units.
Riba will be responsible for all importation costs and taxes, assembly, distribution, homologation, operations, sales and marketing and aftermarket support
The JV’s assembly facility is now being set up in in Varginha, Minas Gerais state with regional and federal government support.
Three Vmoto senior management/board members will join the board of the JV.
The JV will have free trade access to other Latin American markets through trade agreements like MERCOSUL.
Riba Motos Industria e Comercio Ltda
Riba is a Brazilian company founded in 2006 based in Sao Paulo, Brazil and has a long experience in assembly, sales, marketing and distribution in the Brazilian and wider Latin American markets.
The company was most recently the distributor of LEM (Italy) motorcycles in Brazil, but has now moved its business 100% to E-Max electric scooters in Brazil focusing on B2B sales.
They have advanced market relationships in commercial and supply chain in Brazil.
Strong prospects include CORREIOS (national post office of Brazil), Post Services in Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Argentina. Other prospects in a similar filed are UPS, DHL and TNT.
In the fast food business are two major players HABIB’S, the largest fast food chain in Brazil, and Domino’s Pizza.
In the Public Service sector are CEMIG, CPFL and Public safety. Other key fleet segments will be rental companies, with Riba offering 24 month leasing on the scooters, and security patrol companies, especially in gated communities which are ubiquitous.
Riba also has strong state government support through reduced taxes and incentives for the establishment of the JV and assembly lines in Minas Gerais.
This includes reductions in import taxes on imported parts, sales state taxes in Minas Gerais and Federal taxes on industrialisation and industrialised products.
Market growth
The Latin America market for electric scooters is expected to grow at a rate of 43% per year between 2011 and 2017, making it the third largest global market, with 23 million units by 2017. Normal dealer and private retail sales would be in addition.
Latin America will be the second fastest growing market for electric vehicles, after China, between 2011 and 2017.
Brazil is the fifth largest motorcycle market in the world and exports to more than 60 countries.
The growth in fleet sales specifically in Brazil from 2001 to 2011 were at the worlds’ fastest pace, 15% for motorcycles and 18% for scooters.
Brazilian fleets of electric scooters are expected to reach 185,000 units per annum by 2017 and to reach 495,000 in the more optimistic scenario.
The Brazilian government is pushing on a national and state level for fleet owners to reduce their emissions by 20% by 2020.
Additional political pressure comes ahead of the World Cup (2014) and Olympic Games (2016) which have both been marketed to be “green” events and to show Brazil’s absolute dedication to maintaining its rich environmental assets.
According to Riba, electric scooters offer running cost savings of up to 80% over their petrol equivalents with cost per kilometre of $0.01.
Best route to market entry
Due to Brazilian requirements to protect its domestic motorcycle industry, the import tariffs on CBU (fully assembled) units make imports prohibitively expensive (around 160%).
It is therefore essential to establish a local assembly plant with a local partner.
Parts sent in complete knock down format from outside Brazil also incur customs fees of around 100%, therefore parts must be provided at cost price and so a joint venture is the best route to market entry.
Additionally, Brazil does not currently have a domestic electric vehicle industry and therefore the supply chain and expertise must come from outside the country.
A manufacturer cannot also be a distributor and so it is doubly essential to have a strong local partner.
Additional Brazilian opportunities
The Brazilian Postal Service, Correios, has been trialling 14 of Vmoto’s electric delivery scooters for some time across five of its city operations.
Correios is one of the largest state-owned companies in Latin America and is responsible for the national postal service of Brazil.
It delivers to 50 million households across the country and Riba is negotiating with Correios to supply electric scooters to them to replace their existing petrol delivery fleet.
Correios has publically declared that at least 50% of their 14,000 petrol motorbikes will be replaced with electric scooters by 2017.
Wagner Pinheiros , President of Correios, declared in March 2013 that moving to electric two wheeled vehicles is one of Correios’ three core strategies in future operations.
Following the trials with Vmoto, Correios plans to place an order before the end of this year.
Vmoto’s products are the only ones that have been tested to date by Correios.
South American postal services from Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Colombia have also expressed interest in doing business with Riba to acquire E-MAX electric scooters.
Analysis
No major electric two wheel manufacturer is yet present in Brazil so the prize for Vmoto is vast. With import approvals cleared this provides a leg up for Vmoto and Riba.
The entry into the Brazil market with Riba cleverly limits downside for Vmoto in that there is a nominal entry cost to it of less than 200 scooters and with it gains first mover advantage and entry in electric scooters by a western firm into Brazil.
Two years of preparations give Vmoto significant time advantages over any competitors.
The JV provides Vmoto with significant cost savings than if the company entered the new market on its own.
The interest in Brazil for electric scooters is vast and growing, with other key players such as the Brazilian Postal Service, Correios, already trialling Vmoto’s scooters and planning to place an order this year.
This is a transformative partnership for Vmoto that could see the company become a leading player in the fast growing Brazilian electric scooter market.
The deal is valuation accretive and forms another piece of an expanding world for Vmoto's electric scooter products.
Proactive Investors stays with its earlier price target of $0.035 based on our estimate of earnings in 2013/14.
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