Vok Bikes, an Estonian firm behind a brand new technology of four-wheeled electrical cargo bikes, has raised €5 million to additional develop throughout Europe and speed up the shift away from vans in metropolis centres.
The Collection A funding spherical is led by SQM Lithium Ventures, the company enterprise capital group affiliated with SQM Worldwide Lithium (SQMi). The spherical was joined by current buyers Metaplanet, Specialist VC, Sunly, and SmartCap – Estonia’s state-backed VC fund, whose Inexperienced Fund funding is supported by the EU’s NextGenerationEU restoration plan.
“Vans are a blunt instrument for a precision job,” says Indrek Petjärv, CEO and Co-founder of Vok Bikes. “Cities have modified, and Vok is designed for the way they transfer at present.”
Based in 2019, Vok Bikes designs and manufactures automotive-grade, four-wheeled electrical cargo bikes constructed particularly for industrial use in dense city environments.
Since launching in 2020, the corporate has emphasised in-house engineering, leading to improvements like its proprietary 4Drive drivetrain, which reportedly delivers superior experience high quality and sturdiness in comparison with typical cargo bikes.
Vok serves a variety of shoppers from nationwide postal companies to meals supply platforms and micro-service suppliers in 14 international locations throughout Europe, serving shoppers from a cell automotive wash within the Netherlands to bakeries in London.
Early adopter Wolt has scaled its fleet in seven international locations, and IKEA shops in Utrecht and Stockholm now supply Vok bikes for buyer leases.
In whole, Vok Bikes has raised over €10 million in enterprise capital.
“We’re thrilled to help a model that’s redefining electromobility,” mentioned Mark Fones, CEO of SQM Worldwide Lithium. “Vok’s in-house 4Drive system and top-tier engineering strategy have raised the bar by delivering reliability and experience high quality on par with automotive requirements.”
As cities tighten emissions laws and cope with worsening congestion, Vok presents another that’s each environmentally pleasant and commercially viable.
In a check by e-bike rental firm Zoomo, a Vok XL beat a van by 20 minutes on a supply route by way of London – a 44% quicker supply time with zero emissions and no parking delays.
Based on figures supplied by Vok, price comparisons present that Vok is as much as 64% extra environment friendly than small metropolis vans over 5 years, as a result of decrease gasoline, upkeep, tax, and parking bills. In cities like London, 66% of vans function with lower than half of their cargo house used. Vok is right-sized for metropolis deliveries, with no “wasted weight, power, or house“.
“Every Vok e-bike produces as much as 95% much less CO₂ than a petroleum automotive, carries as much as 100 deliveries, and glides by way of metropolis site visitors,” mentioned Mark Bushby of Trendy Milkman, a UK-based supply firm. “We’re already seeing the enterprise and environmental advantages.”
With new funding, robust shopper traction, and a product engineered for contemporary logistics, Vok Bikes is aiming to turn out to be a key participant within the shift towards sustainable city mobility.
