2026-10-28
On October 7, 2026, FUNTI received a customer from Bangladesh at its headquarters and manufacturing base in Taizhou, Zhejiang, China. The visit did not stay in the showroom. Over the course of the day the customer rode two very different machines on the factory test route — a straddle-type model and the V22 maxi scooter — and left with his interest settled on the V22.
What a visit like this establishes first is not a specification but a feel. The customer rode the straddle model and the V22 back to back, which is the most direct way to compare two riding positions: the upright, knees-to-tank posture of a motorcycle against the step-through, feet-forward stance of a maxi scooter.
On a test route the difference shows up in the details. A straddle model asks the rider to work with the machine — weight carried through the pegs, steering led by the body. A maxi scooter asks for much less: the rider sits inside it rather than on top of it, and the emphasis shifts to comfort, wind protection and stability at speed.
Riding both in the same hour is worth more to a distributor than any brochure. It turns a catalogue question — which category do we put in front of our dealers — into a comparison the customer can make with his own hands.
By the end of the visit the customer's interest had concentrated on the V22. That is a narrower and more workable position than an open-ended enquiry: it gives both sides one model to put through the next stage — configuration, market fit, and the service arrangements that have to exist behind it.
A maxi scooter carries two questions into a new market, and both are easier to answer early than late: whether the size and weight suit the roads and the parking it will actually meet, and whether the dealer network can carry the parts and the service training the segment expects. On the evidence of the test ride, the machine answered the rider's questions. The rest is work the two companies do together.
"Whether a model belongs in a market is decided on a test route, not in a showroom. A customer who rides the machine and still wants to talk about configuration has already told you most of what you need to know." — FUNTI Export Sales Department
FUNTI's line-up has been built around commuter scooters — the workhorse segment that carries volume in most export markets. The V22 moves the company into a different tier. A maxi scooter trades some of the commuter's simplicity for comfort, wind protection and the ability to cover longer distances without wearing the rider down.
Maxi scooters are a smaller share of any market than commuters, but for a distributor they are often the most valuable one: higher unit value, higher-margin accessories, and a customer who expects a proper dealer experience and will pay for it. That is why a single seriously interested buyer in a new market is worth taking seriously. The segment is not won on the lowest price; it is won by whichever brand arrives with the product and the support already in place.
FUNTI and the customer left the meeting with a defined next stage: confirming the configuration of the V22 for Bangladeshi conditions, and lining up the documentation, spare parts and after-sales material that a distributor needs before a model goes on sale.
That work order matters as much as the hardware. Configuration, spare-parts lists, service material and paperwork are what turn a promising product into something a dealer network can stand behind — and doing it before the volumes arrive is what separates a launch that holds from one that has to be redone.
For two-wheelers, Bangladesh is not a niche. Motorcycles and scooters carry a large share of daily personal mobility, and the market has been moving through a policy shift that matters to anyone selling electric.
Under the government's 2026/27 budget, the tax burden is being rebalanced away from electric vehicles and towards internal-combustion ones: import taxes on EVs are being cut while the total tax burden on petrol and diesel vehicles rises. Chargers and charging infrastructure are being exempted, locally assembled EVs are being given a lower VAT rate, and the government targets 30% of the market to be electric by 2030. Battery-operated two-wheelers already carry a comparatively light import duty under the current customs tariff.
Alongside the policy, local capacity is forming. International brands have moved from importing into assembling in Bangladesh, and the two-wheeler side is following the same path — which is what turns a promising product into a supportable one.
The practical reading for a distributor is straightforward. Fuel prices and running costs are doing the selling for the electric category; what decides who captures the demand is who has the product line, the spare parts and the service capability in place before it peaks.
Policy shifts look slow right up until they are sudden. Bangladesh spent years treating electric vehicles as a curiosity and has now put tax policy behind them — cutting the burden on EVs while raising it on combustion. That does not create demand by itself; it removes the reason to wait. The distributors who benefit are rarely the ones who moved first for its own sake, but the ones who had already chosen their product line and built the parts and service behind it when the market turned.
FUNTI is a manufacturer of electric motorcycles based in Taizhou, Zhejiang, China, with an annual production capacity of 100,000 units. Its product line covers commuter scooters through to high-performance flagship models, exported to markets across Asia, Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East.
The company works with international distributors through OEM/ODM partnerships, offering customised configurations including battery and motor specifications, regional homologation support and branding solutions. For Bangladesh and the wider region, this includes configuration review against local road and climate conditions, documentation support, and after-sales material prepared for distributor service teams.
Tell us your target segment, volume and local requirements — we will come back with model recommendations, configuration options and a quotation within 24 hours.
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