Belgian electric motorcycle startup 'Any' bets on cargo space; plus, Liux’s Big microcar bets on sustainability

0:01This is TechCrunch.

0:09From athletic stuff like a full-court pickup game, swish, to athletic-ish stuff like a half-mile stroll. Get those steps in! Head to Sierra or Sierra.com for the brands you want at the prices that let you do it all. From athletic to athletic-ish, Sierra's got it. A trip to Europe often means adjusting to a lot of walking. But don't be fooled. Cars are still the default for urban mobility. However, entrepreneurs are seeking to challenge this status quo, and the first step is understanding why it is so ingrained. For Belgian startup Eni, the only way to boost the use of two-wheelers is to make sure they're designed for real life.

0:50And for Eni, that means they should be able to hold a lot of stuff without sacrificing speed, range, or versatility. The startup's designed-for-real-life belief inspired its first product, a modular electric motorcycle called the Love One, that has the capacity of a cargo bike but can reach a top speed of 100 kilometers per hour, about 62 miles per hour here in the States. Any attempt to fill in the missing link left by car trunks is the reason the Love One can store up to 120 liters. The startup wrote on LinkedIn, it came from asking a simple question. What does a real week actually need? Groceries, weekend bags, suitcases, the stuff you don't want to leave behind just because you're on two wheels, not four.

1:37There's even more that the loved one can carry. Customers can either pick an open frame or one with various types of panels, depending on whether they want to travel with a pet or carry work equipment or camping gear. The modularity extends to other parts as well, including an optional windshield, racks, rain poncho and several other variations that could make it appealing to commuters and families or outdoorsy riders. So starting at 7 ,000 euros or about 8 ,150 dollars, the loved one will be less expensive than cars and closer to the cost of higher-end electric cargo bikes. Compared to more powerful motorcycles, it will also have another differentiator.

2:18It should only require an A1 license, which is easy to obtain in most places in Europe. The exact price tag will depend on the custom options each customer can pick through the configurator that Eni launched alongside its pre-order campaign. Boosted by a little Milan buzz, Eni secured more than 600 reservations in its first 100 days, so says its co-founder Eric De Winter. Those reservations required a€49 fee that is credited toward the purchase price and, per Eni's terms, is fully refundable. Like De Winter's former startup Dutch eco bike-sharing service Carguroo, Eni has also raised venture capital.

3:00The startup raised€1.5 million in November, then they followed that up with a€1.25 million top-up in May for a total of€2.75 million. According to the startup, which enlisted former VC Peter Vanderveld as its CEO one year ago, the Rounds backers and its advisor roster include high-profile individuals from the automotive sector. Adding more expertise on that side, Eni also hired a head of engineering, Alessandro Mangano, whose former employers include Aprilia, Ferrari, and Piaggio Group. With two swappable batteries that give it a range of up to 87 miles per charge, the Love One should be able to hold its own against electric models launched in growing numbers by the likes of Piaggio and even Harley-Davidson.

3:47But it will take more than that to stand out on a two-wheeler market that the European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers expects will be mostly electric by 2030. And he is betting that all of that extra cargo space will be its main differentiator. De Winter told TechCrunch that Love One is meant to appeal to a customer base that goes beyond motorcycle riders. He said the startup has been approached by last-mile delivery players, and as it intends to develop not just the Love One, but a portfolio of vehicles that could include a three-wheeler. Before spreading itself further, though, the startup needs to ramp up production of the Love One ahead of its first deliveries to customers.

4:29This will require more funding, and Eni is now seeking to raise some 10 million euros or more in a Series A funding round that it hopes to close by the end of the year.

4:43Cars in European cities are smaller than ever, but as Europe's appetite for microcars has grown, the cute Italian yogurt pots have largely given way to small Chinese EVs. Even Smart, the iconic ultra-compact car brand, has moved manufacturing to China. Following the tracks of the Microlino out of Switzerland, Liux is trying to carve out a place in the market with its upcoming microcar, the Liux Big. But the name also reflects the oversized ambitions of a team that rarely takes the expected route. Liux co-founder Antonio Espinoza told TechCrunch that the idea of a European car does not exist. coming from the CEO of a startup whose cars are already making headlines for being made in Spain, it was a surprising take, and one that reveals a lot about the company's priorities.

5:39It is true that Liux opened Spain's first new car plant in more than 30 years. Espinoza and his co-founder, David Sancho, said they had concluded that a fully sovereign supply chain is unattainable. Instead, Leukes is trying to navigate that reality while keeping sustainability as its North Star. Leukes' batteries are not made in Europe, but they are rechargeable at home, including with power generated from solar panels. The car is also meant to be easy to maintain and avoid the faster obsolescence cycles of modern cars. Perhaps most notably, its fiber body is made from a novel linen-based biocomposite designed so the material can later be extracted and recycled.

6:25Espinosa said, one thing that's very clear for the company is that recycling is not just a lab concept. You can recycle almost anything in a lab. What makes something recyclable has to do with how it's built. When you build something, you have to try to preserve the integrity of the material and the components so that a second life is possible. Real circularity is where Espinosa comes from. He previously co-founded Aurora, a Spanish B Corp selling natural mineral water in bottles that are both recycled and recyclable. But after a larger player acquired that successful brand, he embarked on a new chapter with Sancho as his co-driver.

7:05When it comes to cars, Sancho is in the driver's seat, with low emissions on the radar. His specialty is engineering electric vehicles that can rival gas-powered ones. Before Leukes, his most impressive feat was the Boreas, a hybrid supercar unveiled at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2017. But after a fallout with his former partners, he and Espinosa teamed up to found Leukes. Leukes' first prototype, the Animal, combined their expertise. The fully electric five-seater was made almost entirely from recycled or plant-based materials. And yet, the two co-founders decided to pivot soon after unveiling the SUV to the world in 2022.

7:46It was then that they determined that their odds of completing homologation would be much higher with a smaller car. So, fast forward to 2026, and Liux has secured Europe-wide homologation for the Liux Big, which it expects to start selling in the first half of next year. In the meantime, the company has grown to 65 employees and is getting ready to ramp up production across three facilities in Spain. Now, the startup has not confirmed its final price tag, but said the Liux Big will be below€18 ,000 or about$21 ,000 before potential EV subsidies. This puts it at the higher end of the price range for microcars, but Leukes hopes it will punch above its weight.

8:29Thanks to a litany of decisions large and small, the startup managed to fit a 260-liter trunk into the car, but most of its efforts were geared toward making sure users feel like they are driving a car rather than a two-wheeler. That's also closely tied to safety. Sanchez said, You don't want a car that's only lightweight because its frame can't withstand a crash, or that will topple on the first turn. For now, its main model will have two versions, a 15 kWh and 20 kWh. A cargo version is also planned, and with Sancho on the team, the temptation to build a supercar is never that far away. In a LinkedIn post, the company noted that it does not intend to be a one-car brand.

9:12First, though, Leux will use the 16 million euros it has secured so far to bring the big's urban version to market through partnerships with car dealerships across Europe. That's all for now. For the latest in startup tech news, go to techcrunch.com.

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