© Daelim Motor

The company we’re talking about today is Daelim Motorcycle, which is expanding the two-wheeled vehicle market in Korea through the development of electric-powered motorcycles. Let’s hear from Chung Baek-gyun(정백균), head of the e-business section at the company. 

It took two years for us to develop and release an electric motorcycle named “Zappy,” which represents our commitment to offering the best-performing product optimized for a domestic driving environment. 

An effort to harness growth in the Korean motorbike industry, we’ve explored ways to combine our manufacturing expertise with the service industry in order to become a leading business of convergence in the fourth industrial revolution era.

In line with the current policy of lowering ultra-fine dust levels, which is one of the most sensitive issues in Korea, we’ve achieved our first goal of developing an electric motorcycle with considerably low emissions. Our next goal is to release an electric motorbike outfitted with telecommunications technology to allow users more convenient riding experience.

The company released a two-wheeled electric vehicle named Zappy in August last year, after first unveiling the vehicle at the Electric Vehicle Expo in Jeju in 2017. In a show dominated by conventional four-wheeled cars, the two-wheeled Zappy made quite the impression. Drawing even more attention was the fact that Zappy was produced by Daelim Motorcycle, the leading motorbike manufacture with the largest market share in Korea. 

Daelim Motorcycle has been leading the industry, making great efforts to develop products from consumers’ point of view. This year, the company celebrates the 41^st anniversary of its foundation. As we know, it is challenging for any business to last such a long time. Of course, we’ve experienced difficulties from time to time. But thanks to the relentless efforts of all employees, the company has retained the top sales position in the domestic two-wheeled vehicle market.

There are various imported models in the local market, but many may not fully reflect the driving habits and preferences of the local market. But Daelim Motorcycle fully understands Korea and produces vehicles tailored to local customers’ use. It has also made steady efforts to enhance engine durability to gain high recognition from customers. 

Founded in 1978, Daelim Motorcycle is as old as the history of two-wheeled vehicles in Korea. The company developed Korea’s first 125 cc motorbike and off-road motorcycle. Its “LEAD 50” model, in particular, greatly contributed to the popularization of two-wheeled scooters.

With its “Citi Series,” Daelim Motorcycle has maintained its status as the unchallenged leader in the domestic market. Released in 1987, “Citi” is a motorcycle for business purposes. Selling more than 2 million units, the model has been used by post offices and delivery companies. The company even received a 70 million dollar Export Tower Award in 1999. But the company was still not satisfied.

Identifying a growing consumer preference for electrically-powered and environmentally-friendly vehicles, the company has been researching two-wheeled electric vehicles for several years. 

In 2008, it developed an early protype of an electric scooter by modifying the frame of a conventional gas-powered motorbike and analyzed the market reaction. At the time, the new vehicle ran 60 kilometers a day, exceeding the daily 50 kilometer average for delivery drivers. Thus the company saw real potential in electric motorbikes and began to devote more resources to their development. 

© Daelim Motor

Many firms think that an electric motorcycle can be made by simply replacing the internal combustion engine with a battery and a motor. While those who do not have the knowhow on engines cannot develop conventional motorcycles, some may mistakenly believe that it is easier to assemble an electric motorbike by installing a motor and a battery on a low-priced Chinese frame. But this is a very dangerous idea. 

Daelim’s Zappy features high performance and strong durability built on over forty years of our company’s reputation. It is the most efficient electric motorcycle embedded with a high efficiency lithium-ion battery and a motor optimized for a local driving environment. 

An electric motorbike is powered by a motor and a battery, instead of an engine and gasoline. Therefore, motor and battery technologies comprise the core of electric motorcycles. 

The company was able to accumulate relevant technologies based on extensive experience as the nation’s leading motorcycle producer, and it applied them to its new model, Zappy. The result was a low-noise, pollution-free electric motorbike with an optimized electric motor, battery and controller. 

As an electric vehicle, Zappy is characterized by less noise and fewer carbon emissions. In typical driving, its noise level is about 25 percent of that of a motorbike operated by the internal combustion engine. The electric motorcycle does not use fossil fuel, and the replacement of an old motorbike with an electric one is equivalent to reducing 669 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions each year or planting 62 pine trees. 

Zappy can be handled in the same way as other scooters. But Zappy is operated by a battery, with a drive motor installed in the engine room. Zappy can save 1 million won or about 900 US dollars over one year of regular use compared to a conventional counterpart. In the case of conventional motorbikes, users need to have the engine oil changed about twice a month and pay relatively high maintenance and repair fees, including money on gasoline. When using Zappy, on the other hand, all you need to do is to charge it with electricity, which is cheaper than gasoline. 

When running 50 kilometers a day, eco-friendly Zappy only costs 260 won for electricity. That’s about 23 cents. But it takes time to charge an electric scooter. A sufficient battery capacity and a long driving distance are essential to allow drivers to run the vehicle all day after charging it the previous night. 

Zappy meets these requirements. A 3-hour and 20 minute charge time yields up to 100 kilometers of driving at 40 kilometers per hour. It has a top speed of 70 kilometers per hour, the fastest among similar electric motorcycles in Korea. In addition, the detachable electric battery is convenient to charge.

With 300 units sold in the first three weeks since its debut, Zappy is proving to be popular. Moreover, McDonald’s Korea decided to replace its gasoline-based motorbikes with electric ones for delivery this year, selecting Zappy for its fleet. 

Daelim is now preparing for its next product that will hopefully continue to build on Zappy’s success.

We plan to launch “Zappy-Plus” fitted with telecommunications equipment in 2019 to provide customizable service to the market. We’ll release a model with a high-powered motor and battery in the second half of this year. In 2020, we’ll integrate our next-generation product with a battery-sharing system to expand our business from manufacturing and sales into the service industry, and therefore achieve market dominance as a leading electric motorcycle maker. 

Also in the category of internal combustion engine-based motorcycles, we’ll continue to manage product quality in a stable way and apply environmentally-friendly technology. 

Daelim Motorcycle is expanding the scope of two-wheeled electric vehicles. The company is developing an electric motorbike with telecommunication capabilities in partnership with a local telecom firm. It also seeks to adopt a battery-sharing system so users can replace the battery while driving. 

Moving beyond the realm of electric motorcycles, the company is growing into a convergence-and integration-driven business. No doubt, it will lead the race for innovation in the years to come.