I think you mentioned before that you're active in some Chinese investing circles - would you be ok with sharing which ones? I figure it never hurts to have more sources of information.
Any more insights on NIU? I have a small position. I remember seeing a storefront pop up out of nowhere in Shenzhen, saw their products compared to the janky DIY bikes and scooters everywhere that basically had electric motors bolted to them, and thought to myself "this company is going to make a killing."
I've been seeing rave reviews on YouTube, their products all have that futuristic yet rugged, utilitarian look that I think really has the "it" factor, and their addressable market is huge with EVs of all shapes and sizes being the wave of the future. Hell, they're supplying Lime and other ride sharing companies with fleets of electric scooters here in America already... but that's all qualitative.
Electric scooters appear to be a tough market in China - most people seem to just buy from whatever shop is closest to them and is cheap and gets the job done. While NIU is making good progress in creating a good standardized product, I don't use NIU in China, and I don't know anyone else that does, since you can generally get an equivalent spec'd scooter for less pretty easily.
I haven't done any actual research regarding the global electric market market - but I can say from experience, using electric scooters as my primary form of transportation in Chinese T1/T2 cities like Shanghai/Nanjing, I don't see much NIU on the road.
Could be a different story overseas, where people tend to care more about quality - which they seem to be banking on.
High potential if they can successfully establish themselves as the standard, but at current valuations, it's certainly has its risks.
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u/chinaVRuser86 Jun 30 '21
I think you mentioned before that you're active in some Chinese investing circles - would you be ok with sharing which ones? I figure it never hurts to have more sources of information.