BUYING fresh food from small businesses on the roadside or at pasar malams is an integral part of Malaysian food culture, with food trucks growing in popularity – offering an alternative to food courts where more labour is required, in addition to the rent for the space.
Eclimo, a local green technology start-up’s new e-motorbikes seemingly pair two essentially Malaysian icons, street food and motorcycles, as the vehicles come equipped with a customised carrier bag which can power a grill or stove placed inside it – making it essentially the world’s first mini food truck.
While private ownership of e-motorbikes lags behind, there is a market for the adoption of these vehicles in e-commerce, where the argument in favour of using these vehicles is driven by cost-cutting instead of environmental concerns.
The ‘mini food truck’ is part of the company’s fleet of e-motorbikes, but scaled up. With the help of the bike’s nano-structured Battery Monitoring System (BMS), those aspiring to make foods on the go can do so in a much more compact way.
The e-vehicle’s battery can also serve as a power source, if the rider wants to stop and set up next to a stall or to support food vendors at events. This versatility is sure to make the idea of owning a mobile stall that much more appealing to more people.
The BMS can monitor battery health, send out alerts when the battery voltage drops, and comes with a tracking and geo-fencing system that can be controlled via mobile app – helping to ease the range anxiety that users of electrical vehicles often have.
In terms of environmental impact, one full charge gives 100km and with every 100km, there will be savings of up to 7kg of carbon dioxide emissions.
With the nationwide transition into the endemic phase of Covid-19, Eclimo has seen increased interest from entrepreneurs who do not want to deal with high rentals or the shortage of labour to operate restaurants or stalls.
“As Malaysians, food is our passion and we saw the opportunity to elevate an electric vehicle into creating opportunities for the B40 community to start a small business through this micro-mobility entrepreneurship business model,” said Eclimo Sdn Bhd Executive Director, Datuk Dennis Chuah.
The company hopes to have a total of 100 e-motorbikes ready by year end. The bags on each bike can be customised for the needs of the individual user. E-motorbikes have been previously well-received by last mile delivery riders. – The Vibes, July 16, 2022
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