When I connected recently with Upway co-founder and CEO Toussaint Wattinne via email to talk about his e-bike startup, he explained the value proposition for his France-based company, launched in 2021, “resonates very well” with customers. The young company, he said, serves as a secondary market for e-bikes that offers the vehicles at prices up to 60% off retail price—all done without compromising on quality. Every bike sold by Upway undergoes what Wattinne characterized as a “meticulous certification” process, which includes a one-year warranty, at Upway’s Brooklyn warehouse before being delivered to buyers.
“What sets us apart from other marketplaces is our distinctive, fully integrated operating model that covers everything from sourcing to sales,” Wattinne said of his company’s value proposition. “We acquire e-bikes directly from brands, local bike shops, and consumers. Collaborating with businesses, we establish trade-in channels for their customers, providing a new acquisition avenue. We also offer individuals a seamless way to upgrade their e-bikes by purchasing their old ones.”
Wattinne expounded further, saying Upway’s combination of speed of execution and financial discipline has translated into a “fast-growing business” sporting healthy and ever-improving economics for himself and co-founder Stéphane Ficaja. He noted he and Ficaja strongly believe in the “power of sustainable mobility and share the motivation to make individual transportation more sustainable with new mobility concepts.”
When asked about the decision to focus on e-bikes, Wattinne said Upway is “helping accelerate a large-scale underlying trend” that electric bikes are increasingly becoming popular. He noted they are amongst the “world’s largest growing transportation categories” poised to expand at a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 13.5 percent by the end of the decade. Moreover, Wattinne emphasized how Upway has “given a new life” to more than 20,000 e-bikes in less than two years.
“With Upway, we’ve paved the way for easy access to sustainable transportation solutions,” Wattinne said. “Not only do we provide e-bikes at significantly lower prices compared to buying directly from retailers, but we also reduce the carbon footprint of each purchase. By selling certified pre-owned e-bikes, we are reducing 60% of their environmental footprint.”
Wattinne’s point about providing easier access to transport cuts both ways. Not only does he and his team provide people with lower cost, environmentally-friendly e-bikes, but the price factor plus high quality can be attractive to a disabled person looking for more accessible transport options. For those who can ride a bike but still remain constrained by their budget, buying from Upway indeed may be the best way for them to get their next mode of accessible transportation. Upway is yet another example of accessibility showing off its many legs; for a disabled person needing transport, that they can get a bike at low cast make its accessible in more ways than one—especially with the vast majority of disabled people always needing to pinch their pennies.
My conversation with Wattinne coincided with the company’s release of its trend report this week. He reiterated a few high points of the report, including reiterating the notion that e-bikes are a fast-growing market. The market exploded for $19.05 billion in sales in 2022, with Wattinne attributing growth factors in part to government-led initiatives to reduce carbon footprints, as well as a surge in popularity regarding buying secondhand. He noted 61% of Americans buy used goods online, adding Upway is proud to join the so-called “circular economy movement” through its trade-in service. This service, he said, launched last May and “empowers independent bike shops to purchase used e-bikes from customers at competitive prices, while Upway handles estimation, resale, and logistics.” Since launch, Upway has partnered with 200 shops in the United States and 1500 globally; the company has extended this to individuals through its “Sell Your Bike” feature on its website.
In terms of feedback on Upway, Wattinne was succinct in saying it’s been “overwhelmingly positive.” He pointed to the 4.7 rating on TrustPilot garnered from more than nearly 5,000 customer reviews.
Looking towards the future of his company, Wattinne said Upway still is “at the very beginning of our journey” but noted the overarching goal is to give new life to over a million e-bikes worldwide by 2030. This goal, he added, will go a long way in “helping drive mass adoption of e-mobility in an accessible, convenient, and safe way.” A major step towards that future will be the opening of a warehouse in California, which Wattinne told me is slated to happen by the end of this year.