Source: official press release Origem 

Founded in 2017, in Brasília, Brazil, the company designs, manufactures and rents its electric motorcycles in an all-inclusive plan that ensures access to the company’s growing network of battery swap stations.

In their first three years of operation, Origem went from business concept to having a fleet of motorcycles and battery swap stations deployed to a wide array of customers. In the past 18 months, their electric motorcycles have ridden hundreds of thousands of kilometers, some of them in 24/7 operations in harsh environments.

Right now Origem is expanding its manufacturing capacity and deploying swap stations to increase their network coverage.

“I really love this idea about responsible capitalism. This approach is totally different from other electric motorcycle manufacturers. It’s a new vision on green mobility, accessible for everyone. That is why I like to publish this vision first. In a future post, we will focus further on Origem’s electric motorcycle.”

Guy Salens | THE PACK

Origem’s new vision

They are firm believers that clean and affordable personal transportation is a great driver of change all around the world. Eliminating tailpipe emissions is just part of the benefits. Providing families and workers tools to move freely and at low cost promotes social justice, while building better cities. That’s why Origem chose the mission of bringing electric transportation to the masses, a challenge that has three main components:

1. Providing electric vehicles that perform equally (or better) on the same jobs as their combustion alternatives.
2. Creating a recharging infrastructure that is as convenient as refueling on petrol stations, causing no disruption on daily routines.
3. The complete solution must be economically viable for mass adoption. The Total Cost of Ownership must be better than combustion alternatives and the economic relation must ensure access to the large part of the population that doesn’t have access to financing.

Origem tackles each of these requirements in a very pragmatic way, as said by Felipe, one of the company founders:

• “We have created a robust, smart and sustainable electric motorcycle, that is also the best choice for fleets and professional applications. We want couriers and corporations to adopt our solution from day one, to do last mile logistics, deliveries, door to door sales and all sorts of field operations.”
• “We are building a nationwide network of Battery Swap Stations in Brazil, to provide unlimited range for our customers within our areas of operation. It is being deployed in partnership with petrol stations networks, shopping malls and parking lot operators.
• “Our motorcycles are offered on a subscription basis, with fixed costs and no deposits required. Our customers ride as much as they want and swap batteries as many times as needed.”

“This is the only mobility offer where the more you ride, the cheaper every kilometer gets. In this arrangement, transportation costs effectively become a zero marginal cost. We have gone beyond rethinking the motorcycle from the ground up. We are questioning the roles and responsibilities a vehicle manufacturer should take in a sustainable world.”

Felipe Borges | Origem

Origem is completely changing the way of doing business, taking responsibility for all their products life cycle:

• Their subscription plans come with included periodic maintenance. Everything is designed first for robustness and repairability. This greatly reduce the use of resources throughout the products life and inverts the logic of profitability in the auto industry: no aftermarket parts and service fees.
• Every motorcycle is insured by Origem and this is included in all rental plans, together with taxes and licensing fees.
• Motorcycles, batteries and swap stations are capable of remote software updates, real time tracking and advanced telemetry. Origem’s software orchestrates all the data and provides everything for their customers on their apps and free fleet management tools.
• All their products are designed and built locally in Low CapEx modular factories. Origem can go from micro to giga factories, always favoring local suppliers and efficient logistics.
• Traditional vehicle financing puts the burden on the weakest link: the low income buyer. With their rental plans there are no more dealerships, sales bureaucracy, declined financing, credit scores and high interest rates. Origem is responsible for the whole value chain financial cycle, leveraging industrial financing products and ESG bonds to ensure manufacturing capacity.

“Sustainable technology, local design and production, a transparent relation on customer service and a drive to create an ecosystem where everyone participates and wins. A different way of doing things that some may call responsible capitalism, but we simply think it’s the right way of doing it.”

Felipe Borges, Origem