Well this threads gone a little quiet, and I've only just kicked off posting to the forum (been lurking for over a year and have actually been registered for almost a year) so figured I'd give this a wee bump.
Falco - I love to see someone even thinking about having a crack at something that they're passionate about...and reckon it could be the best move you ever make. It's never work if you love what you're doing!
Having said that, I'd just inject a few questions I'd be asking myself (which no doubt you've already covered off on)
How will I establish this dealership?
Will I have a physical location and if so, what are the rental and utility etc costs?
What other overheads will I need to meet before product costs are even factored (liability insurance, premises insurance, product insurance, finance fees, CCI fees etc.)?
Have I captured all potential overhead costs...? Throw in a little contingency to be sure.
Rightio, that's what I need a month just to keep the doors open - how many sales per month does that equate to? So baseline - how many sales do I need to mae to break even (before paying myself a penny)
How many more sales to pay myself a reasonable salary?
Will the Perth market realistically sustain this?
On a related note, I'm not quite sure I agree with some earlier comment(s) that ES members would be a good litmus test - ES really is about DIY from all the stuff I've read...not so much purchasing turnkey. Not that they won't - I just think you're target market for this product (particuarly the road bikes) ranges from the older green voting/liberal gentleman having a crack at recreating his youth to the CUBs (cashed up bogans) with either a bit of a green conscience or who has realised that these things really do have some stick
Then you'd really want to do a reasonably indepth SWOT and Risk analysis
What if Zero go broke?
What if Zero can't supply (heightened US demand)?
What if the big bike manufacturers decide to take this space on? (I believe they have there own dealer network)
Having looked at just those limited 'issues' above, 2 possible options are evident (there are likely many more):
1. Identify a current independent motorcycle shop and use part of their premises as a shop front. They already have the foot traffic of people interested in a bike - just need to get them to 'see the light' and convert to a leccy rather than a gassy. This would potentially cannabalise sales from their prime market so not sure whether you would get any on board affordably enough for you still to make a wee bite outta the cherry...?
2. Don't just be a Zero dealership - be a multi dimensional EV pit stop. Offer Zero, Brammo, Scooters, cars (if possible) and most importantly (in my mind) bikes, trikes etc. Also supply specialist EV parts (I'd target over 1,000 for the GST thrreshold otherwise you'll be killed by direct imports) to supplement core sales. Provide a varied range of selections to satisfy many tastes all under the one roof - this expands your potential market massively (I do think turn key e bicycles will be picked up in a big way in Perth when they get traction - specially hackable bosch mid drives etc.) and doesn't leave you beholden to the potential issues of one supplier within one market. There is definitely space in this market to my mind - and enough of a quid to be made to keep investors and workers happy.
In general I don't think you'd get rich on this gig (which does make onboarding investors a little more challenging) but that's certainly not what it's about.
With regards to USD-AUD pricing, we do (usually) get a pretty stiff deal but it aint always down to the manufacturers, distributors and retailers...it's more often than not the regulators...
Let's take the pricing of the SR for example - we'll round it to US17k for ease of calcs. Now we've gotta add approx 1000 per bike for confrming to Oz regs (this per bike cost would get smaller with sufficient sales as the upfront research, compliance and tool costs are subsumed) and perhaps 250 for shipping (batteries etc.). So, we're talking 18,250 before we get hit with GST and exchange rate costs (which compound). At a 1:1 exchange rate, total AUD price would be 18,250 x 1.0 x 1.1 = 20,075...whoa, Oz tax applied. Stick in the (very approx) current exchange rate of 1.1 AUD to USD and we get 18250 x 1.1 x 1.1 = 22,082.5. Still a wee bit of an Oz tax but looking more reasonable. Now we wack in the long term exchage rate of 1.33 UD to 1 USD and we get 18,250 x 1.3 x 1.1 = 26,097.50...holy mackerel...it's an oz discount. I know this isn't the current exchange rate but we have seen xrates below this average for reasonable time periods in the last few years. Even using the RBAs stated targeted (and let's face, probably close to 'fair') rate of 1.25AUD to 1 USD gives 18,250 x 1.25 x 1.1 = 25094 - close to on the money.
Anyhoo - enough babbling from me. Falco - if you think option number 2 above sounds in some way viable, I could be keen to become a (mostly silent) partner/investor. I don't have the time bandwidth to assist too deeply but may be able to scare up some capital. Also be happy to be involved from a governance/financial/accounting perspective. Lots of numbers to run before it could be considered viable but reckon there is something there...
Good luck all the same - hope you find that metaphorical pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!
