Electric vehicle manufacturer giant Aima eyes overseas opportunities

Aima Technology Group Co Ltd, one of the major two-wheel electric vehicle manufacturers in China, is stepping up efforts in overseas markets, according to the company's management.

"We believe now is a good opportunity to go global," said Mo Xuan, branding chief of Aima Technology Group Co Ltd. "The demand for two-wheel electric vehicles is surging because of the COVID-19 and the skyrocketing oil price. Meanwhile, many governments are also offering subsidiaries for electric vehicles purchases to fulfill their low carbon emission commitments."

According to Mo, the company set up an international business unit at the beginning of 2021, paving the way for expanding overseas. And Aima will focus on exploring North America, Europe and Southeast Asia. The global market potential, Mo stressed, is also huge though China is currently the world's largest electric vehicle market. According to Electric Bikes Worldwide Report, China accounts for more than 90 percent of the global market.

"We expect the global market to reach a similar scale like that of China after five years due to the global commitment to reduce carbon emission," said Mo. "And we will adopt a localization strategy by producing tailored-made products based on different markets' demand. Meanwhile, we will also upgrade the global manufacturing system and strengthen our core advantage."

According to the company's financial statement for 2021, Aima's sales revenue increased by 19.33 percent year-on-year to 15.4 billion yuan ($2.3 billion), and its net income jumped by 10.94 percent on a yearly basis to 664 million yuan. While its first-quarter sales revenue skyrocketed by 46.65 percent year-on-year to 4.59 billion yuan and its net project surged by 108.9 percent to 317 million yuan, despite the growing cost of raw materials.

"This is mainly due to our strategy to upgrade our products with a higher profit margin and better function," said Mo. "Meanwhile, we increased our stock of raw materials before the price increase."

Aima has just upgraded its logo design to make it more fashionable and added high-tech elements to attract young customers.

"This is our latest effort to make our products more popular with young consumers, with more high-tech and intentional elements," said Mo. "And that's why we invited Rob Janoff, the Apple logo designer, to be responsible for our logo upgrading."

Since 2019, Aima has launched a series of reforms to transform it from a traditional manufacturer to a fashionable technology company,

Founded in Tianjin in 1999, Aima is one of the leading manufacturers of electric bicycles, electric mopeds and electric motorcycles. With seven production bases and more than 2,000 dealers across the country, the company sold more than 8.5 million vehicles last year. Aima also topped the e-bike brands on the list of China Brand Power Index (CBPI) guided by Chnbrand for years.

Jin Siying contributed to this story