KUALA LUMPUR: Ni Hsin Group Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary, Ni Hsin EV Tech Sdn Bhd (NHEV), today signed an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) agreement with Dongguan Tailing Motor Vehicle Co Ltd (TAILG) for the manufacture of the eBixon EV Bike.

Under the OEM agreement, TAILG will manufacture the eBixon EV Bikes and deliver as semi-knocked down (SKD) components that include spare parts and software, while NHEV will assemble and test as well as run quality control and commission the electric two-wheelers in Malaysia.

NHEV managing director Khoo Chee Kong said the company's venture into the e-mobility business is in line with its commitment to seek opportunities under the ESG criteria of sustainability.

He said NHEV targets to produce 1,000 units of eBixon EV Bikes for the first year.

"The eBixon EV Bike will be used as proprietary mobile beverage machines in our BLACKBIXON Coffee business concept of cafe@anywhere, serving BLACKBIXON coffee to customers at various popular locations in cities around the country.

"We are also developing business models for the last mile delivery services built on the eBixon EV Bike. The eBixon EV Bike is expected to be launched in the third quarter of 2022," he said in a statement today.

Khoo said the company is also targeting to sell 50,000 units of the eBixon EV Bikes in Southeast Asia in the next three years. Demand for two-wheeled EVs in the region is expected to see explosive growth over the next three to three years, surpassing Europe and East Asia.

"This growth is supported by the region's e-commerce market, which is valued at US$2.53 billion in 2022 and is expected to have a compound average growth rate of 20.6 per cent over the five years to 2027 according to International Trade Administration data," he said.

NHEV and TAILG had, on October 14, 2021, entered into a product development agreement to develop the electric two-wheelers based on TAILG's existing model D-80 for commercial purposes.

Following the successful development of the prototype, the parties are now proceeding with the commercial manufacture of the two-wheelers, which is certified by the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), Malaysian Standard 2413 (MS2413) and Vehicle Type Approval (VTA) from the Road Transport Department Malaysia.