Bulgarian push-pull bikes come out of the town of Elena to take over Europe

About eight years ago, Tsvetan Iliev decided to start work on the creation of a Bulgarian electric bicycle – or a push-pull bicycle, as he himself calls it. An engineer by profession, Tsvetan has always had an affinity for assembling various machines.

Initially, my idea was not business-oriented, but rather to create something that I like," he shares in a conversation with Economic.bg.

Products supplied all over Europe

Over time, however, his brand – Vinghen - grew and started production in the small town of Elena (Veliko Tarnovo Region). Currently, only two workshops are active, but the potential capacity of the production base is about 2,000 units per year.

The company already offers its products in several European markets, including Spain, France, Germany and Estonia.

Vinghen mainly works with business clients in the field of tourism, based on the idea that, through electric bicycles, the major European ski resorts can offer an alternative type of tourism in the months when there are no conditions for winter sports.

One of our most passionate customers is Rene from Germany. He has a ski shop in a winter resort but does not want to lay off his staff in the summer. That's why he was looking for an alternative," says Tsvetan.

Then he began to offer the Bulgarian-made electric bicycles as a convenient and easy way for family tours in the mountains when the weather was not suitable for practicing winter sports.

We are currently trying to start partnering with hotel chains so they can offer this service," says Tsvetan Iliev.

According to him, there is interest on the part of some Bulgarian tourism businesses. For example, Vinghen works with clients from the Pamporovo ski resort, where the bicycles of the company are also offered for touring.

The way people ride push-pull bicycles is based on the principle of electric scooters.

Vinghen is also busy working on developing new products while improving its push-pull bicycle.

This product that we currently offer will remain on the market, but we will be adding new functionalities and generally increasing its quality.”

The founder of the Bulgarian electric bicycle company also mentions that there is an ongoing preparation of a new product that would be suitable for the urban environment, plus there is a development of a system for the shared renting of this type of micro-mobility vehicle. In his words, the system will "limit vandalism", but at this stage, he declined to give more details.

Project financing

The Vinghen startup has been developed chiefly with personal funds and credit financing. So far there has been one round of external funding from an English investor. The funds have helped the company complete the push-pull bike model that is currently in production.

At this stage, the company is once again looking for investors for its future projects.

Tsvetan Iliev says that they are considering leaving only the administrative and development part of the business in Bulgaria while exporting the production base.

There are not many engineers in the labor market in Bulgaria, but we have good specialists in the field of marketing and sales…very good specialists. In this regard, we are studying the possibility of completely outsourcing production outside of Bulgaria and keeping the administrative and development activities here," says Tsvetan Iliev.

According to him, the development of the bicycle industry can be a factor in Bulgaria becoming a hub for the production of electric bikes.

It is quite possible to become a major supplier. Portugal is one country that is working in this direction. But another country that can do that is Bulgaria."

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov