Lectric Ebikes rose to the top of sales, and now they are giving it all away
In just four years, Phoenix-based Lectric Ebikes quickly grew into a major player in the US e-bike market. The garage startup story of how Lectric’s founders rode the brand’s budget-priced e-bikes all the way to the top has been told many times. Just as fascinating, yet less well-known, is how committed the company has been to giving back through major donations and philanthropy.
Today, on Giving Tuesday, that story deserves to be told.
When Lectric stormed onto the scene with its first sub-$1,000 e-bike, the co-founders Levi Conlow and Robby Deziel had no idea just how big it would become.
Shooting to the top as the best-selling e-bike in the US, the Lectric XP 3.0 has since been joined by several other models that have expanded the company’s range through fat tire bikes, cargo e-bikes, lightweight folders, and more. With several e-bikes still priced at under $1,000, the company has become a heavyweight of the affordable e-bike market.
I sat down with Levi to discuss how his team’s success has enabled the company to achieve its wide-ranging goals beyond merely selling e-bikes.
“In college, I became really interested in the idea of conscious capitalism,” Levi explained. “The idea that a business shouldn’t be purely about pursuing profits. It should do so in a way that focuses on ethics and remembers that a rising tide lifts all ships.”
Since its very beginning, Lectric Ebikes’ business model has focused on disruption by moving into new e-bike categories with models that significantly undercut current price trends. But as Levi explained, that model isn’t just about profits.
“Lectric is determined to continue to disrupt the bike market, also by setting a high bar for philanthropy. We’re the leader in sales, but we also want to lead the way in giving.”
And he isn’t just waxing poetically, either. The company has put its money where its mouth is. Just this year they’ve given away over US $2 million, including more than US $1 million in e-bike donations and over US $1 million in cash donations.
“Part of the reason we can do this is that we run a good company,” Levi continued. “We didn’t go the venture capital route or blow our money on bad business ideas or on buying growth. We’ve run a good, profitable business from day one. Leadership has continued to make what’s important to us important to the company. That’s the beauty of being the founders. Rob and I get to take our principles and further them through the good of the company.”
The amount of giving has grown as well. Last year, Lectric announced that it would partner with Beast Philanthropy to “adopt” an orphanage, completely renovating it with larger and better-equipped facilities to serve more children. The company told customers that for every e-bike sold on Giving Tuesday 2022, Lectric would donate $250 to the project. However, as the budget for the massive undertaking grew, Lectric ultimately donated 100% of its sales from the day.
Donating to orphanages and supporting foster care systems has become one of several main focuses of the company’s giving. “My relationship to parents was a huge resource to me growing up, they were so important to who I became. I still call them probably five times a week. And so that’s been part of why supporting foster care programs has been so important to me. To give orphans the best chance, the best resources that are often taken for granted.”
This year, they’ve decided right from the start to embrace that strategy of total giving. The company just announced that 100% of proceeds from bike sales today on this year’s Giving Tuesday will go towards Lectric’s next philanthropy project. If you want your entire bike purchase to go towards many of the charities and social projects that Lectric supports, you can find their wide range of e-bike sales here. Personally, this year I also started my own e-bike charitable project called E-bikes For Good, and so I’m going to buy an e-bike to donate, knowing that the money I spend will become a second donation as well.
This year’s Giving Tuesday project will be joining a long list of other far-reaching endeavors already undertaken by Lectric. The e-bike brand has partnered with Beast Philanthropy several times for global projects.
Those projects have included donating over 1,000 cargo e-bikes to be used for water collection in Africa for areas without clean drinking water, donating tens of thousands of shoes and clothing to those in need, installing solar power and internet access in a remote area of Colombia, and more.
Lectric has often provided funds and e-bikes for such projects, but also frequently sends its own staff to help out as well.
In addition to philanthropic projects worldwide, Lectric has also focused on helping those in need closer to home.
Recent activities have included working at and supplying Phoenix food banks, $100,000 in toy donations to a statewide toy drive during the holidays (including the Lectric team personally wrapping them), and partnering with local urban farms that feed food-insecure families.
During the holidays, the company even gave each of its employees a $2,000 stipend to donate to a charity of their choice.
“I’ve always believed in the saying that ‘The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give that gift away,’ Levi explained. It’s one of several quotes that Levi tries to live his life by.
And based on the company’s track record, it seems they’re doing a pretty good job.
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Tesla has started to offer discounted financing on Cybertruck as the electric pickup truck undoubtedly turns out to be a flop.
Tesla claimed over 1 million reservations for the Cybertruck, and CEO Elon Musk said he could see Tesla producing 500,000 units per year.
However, that was before Tesla announced that the production version would be much more expensive and have a shorter range than what was initially announced.
The Cybertruck has now been in production for a year and a half, and it looks like Tesla would be lucky to sell about 10% of Musk’s goal of 500,000 units.
The automaker doesn’t report Cybertruck sales, but it is estimated that Tesla delivered roughly 40,000 Cybertrucks in 2024, and it is expected to have even more issues selling the truck this year.
Tesla has taken several steps to help sales.
We reported that Tesla launched Cybertruck leases to help move vehicles. The company is even still tucked with “Foundations Series” Cybertrucks, and we found out that Tesla buffed “Foundations Series” badges out of some trucks to sell them as cheaper regular Cybertrucks.
For the remaining “Foundations Series,” which there still are despite Tesla switching to regular Cybertruck production in October, Tesla has even offered free Supercharging for life.
Now, Tesla is stepping up its game, and it is offering discounted financing on new Cybertruck orders:
Tesla announced 1.99% APR for a limited time:
1.99% APR available for a limited time for well-qualified buyers
WIthout the “promotion”, the rate for excellent credit is 5.84%.
While Tesla is discounting the rates, it is not discounting them as much as for new Model 3 orders.
We reported earlier this week that Tesla offers 0% and 0.99% with $0 down on new Model 3 orders in the US until the end of the quarter.
Electrek’s Take
It is very possible that Tesla can’t sell more than 10,000 Cybertrucks this quarter, which would extrapolate to 40,000 units per year or less than 10% of what Elon said he would see Tesla delivering.
Now, the cheaper single motor Cybertruck should help, but by how much? It could bring Tesla to 20-30% of the volume Elon saw possible?
I think it’s fairly clear that the Cybertruck is a flop.
Tesla launched a single new vehicle in the last 5 years and it is a flop.
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Environment
Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China and it crashed the server starting at just $15,000
Toyota looks to grab a bigger share of the world’s largest EV market as it takes aim at BYD and other low-cost leaders. On Thursday, Toyota launched its cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X, starting at roughly $15,000. The new electric SUV crashed the server with over 10,000 orders in an hour.
Meet Toyota’s cheapest EV in China, the bZ3X
The bz3X is Toyota’s “first 100,000 yuan-level pure electric SUV” in China and its cheapest EV to hit the market so far.
Toyota’s Chinese joint venture, GAC-Toyota officially launched the “Bozhi 3X,” or bZ3X for short, in China on March 6. Shortly after, the company said orders for its new electric SUV were “so popular that the server crashed” after revealing prices start at just over $15,000 (109,800 yuan).
After securing over 10,000 orders in just one hour, Toyota boasted again that “the server is overwhelmed.” The launch comes after blind pre-orders opened in December, starting at just under $14,000 (100,000 yuan).
The bZ3X is available in two versions, with or without its full-scenario smart driving tech. The non-smart tech model starts at 109,800 yuan ($15,000) with five trim options while the smart driving model starts at 149,800 yuan ($20,500).
For 159,800 yuan ($22,000), the range-topping “610 Max” trim provides up to 610 km (379 miles) CLTC range from a 67.92 kWh LFP battery. The base “430 Air” gets up to 430 km (267 miles) from a 50.03 kWh LFP battery pack.
Toyota said the interior provides “a mobile space that is comfortable as home,” with front and rear seats that can fold down to provide nearly 10 feet (3 meters) of space.
Inside, the electric SUV has a 14.6″ infotainment screen with voice recognition and an 8.8″ driver display. It also includes a two-spoke multi-function steering wheel.
Toyota’s new bZ3X is its first vehicle with the Momenta 5.0 Intelligent Driving System. Powered by NVIDIA Drive AGX Orin X, it comes with 25 ADAS features, such as parallel parking, remote control parking, high-speed pilot, light traffic assist, and blind spot monitoring.
GAC-Toyota claimed it will be “one of the first automakers in the world to realize a one-stage end-to-end intelligent driving model.” With human-like intelligence, the vehicle “gets smarter and better with use.”
At 4,600 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,645 mm tall, Toyota’s cheapest EV in China is about the size of BYD’s Yuan Plus (Atto 3) at 4,455 mm long, 1,875 mm wide, and 1,615 mm tall. Starting at 115,800 yuan ($16,000), Toyota’s new bZ3X slightly undercuts BYD’s electric SUV.
What do you think of Toyota’s new electric SUV? Would you buy one for around $15,000? We’ll keep dreaming.
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