Shares in electric scooter manufacturer Vmoto (ASX:VMT) got a boost this morning, after the company announced strong sales growth through to the end of May.

Vmoto said the growth was a by-product of its distribution strategy across global markets from its China-based manufacturing hub.

Units sales in the five months to May 31 came in at 8,453, of which 7,770 (91.9 per cent) were sold internationally. Shares in VMT rose by almost 20 per cent in morning trade to 28 cents.

Vmoto finance director Ivan Teo told Stockhead the pickup in activity was evident across both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-to-business (B2B) channels, as consumption patterns changed in the wake of the COVID-19 disruption.

“On the consumer side we’ve seen a shift because traditional public transport became more risky for a lot of people. It’s harder to switch to a car, so in that sense it’s benefited two-wheeled personal transport because it’s a cheaper and more flexible option,” Teo said.

On the B2B side, he cited increased demand for delivery options with more people forced to stay at home, as well as the rise in popularity of ride-sharing platforms.

“In some of our major market, people are seeing it’s a smart way to do business because the cost of operations are very low, which is particularly beneficial when people have effectively been forced to use personal transport options due to the impact of the pandemic,” Teo said.

As part of its announcement this morning, Vmoto cited distribution into new markets across Japan, Costa Rica, Panama and Thailand.

However, Teo said the company’s near-term focus remains in Europe, where many major markets also benefit from more established government policies promoting a shift to clean energy transport solutions.

Vmoto said it had completed delivery of an order for 2,000 units from Go Sharing, the Netherlands-based ride sharing platform, with an additional order for 1,2000 also secured in the December quarter.

Although large, the Chinese market is also very low margin with intense price competition, Teo said, adding that the business is laying the groundwork for a launch into the US market some time in 2021.

In other ASX tech news this morning

Tech development company Silex Systems (ASX:SLX) provided a market update on its three-year research project with the University of New South Wales to develop Zero-Spin Silicon — a key component in the quantum computing industry. SLX said stage one of the project was completed “on budget and on schedule. SLX shares climbed by almost 10 per cent in morning trade, to a new 2020 high above 60 cents.

Read MoreTech

Featured Companies

You might be interested in