While European cities continue to travel mainly by automobiles, more and more start-ups are trying to cut into more day-to-day use with electric double-wheel vehicles. The idea of the Belgian start-up company, Any, is to make the two-wheeler more fit to cover commuting, family travel and light transport requirements.

LUV1 master loads big.

Any's first product, LUV1, is a modular electric motorcycle. The company has positioned it as a vehicle with a combined cargo bike capacity and motorcycle speed with a maximum speed of 100 km per hour and a storage space of up to 120 litres.

The focus of the design of the vehicle was not simply to increase speed, but to fill the two-wheeler loads in daily life. Users have the option of having an open frame or different panels to carry pets, work equipment or camping items. Optional configurations also include windshields, shelf and rainproof equipment.

The design team is betting on the new sub-market.

The design of LUV1 was led by Lowie Vermeersch, a former Benephalina design director. The prototype vehicle was quickly brought to attention in May this year, after a design week in Milan. Vermeersch is not only in charge of creative direction, but also one of the investors of Any.

Any hopes that this will lead to the creation of a new product category, namely, “life-friendly vehicles”. In the company ' s view, if a two-wheeler were to replace a part of the vehicle ' s use scene, it would have to address the problem of inadequate loading space.

Advances in advance with financing

The LUV1 start-up price was €7000, which was lower than that of a car, close to the high-end electric cargo bicycle. According to the company, the car was expected to be on the road only with an A1 driver ' s licence, which would also help to expand the range of potential users.

Any has online configuration tools in line with pre-sales. Erik de Winter, co-founder and chief business officer of the company, stated that, with exposure from Milan Design Week, LUV1 had received over 600 reservations 100 days before the pre-sale was launched.

An amount of €49, which is offset by a deduction for the purchase of vehicles and is refundable in full, is set aside. In terms of financing, an amount of 1.5 million euros was completed last November, an additional 1.25 million euros was added in May and a cumulative amount of 2.75 million euros.

The company is looking for a round A to expand capacity.

At present, Any is headed by former investor Pieter Van de Velde. The company also introduced Alessandro Mangano, the project manager from Aprilia, Ferrari and Piagio Group, to enhance production readiness.

In terms of product parameters, LUV1 is equipped with two replacement batteries up to a single charge of approximately 87 miles. Faced with the trend towards accelerated electricization in the European bicycle market, Any believes that a larger cargo space would be a key selling point for its gap with other electric motorcycle brands.

According to the company, in addition to the average rider, the terminal distribution company has approached it. Any is also planning to expand more models beyond LUV1, which may include tricycles in the future. But before that, the company first needed to boost the production of LUV1 and was seeking some 10 million euros or more of the A round, with a target of completion by the end of the year.