The Netherlands is so very close, but also so very far away – even their KwikFit is different. The Dutch version has started doing e-bike servicing.

The move is actually part of a broader shift towards ‘e-servicing’ that has seen the first electric vehicle (EV) only branch of KwikFit open in Amsterdam this week.

Several e-bike service points have opened in the city too, as well as in the Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven.

KwikFit believes that with many e-bike purchases being made online, there is a need for quick local servicing, regardless of brand. The firm says owners will be able to make an appointment online and get help within an hour.

“For us, this is the first big step towards the e-mobility market and the garage of the future,” said KwikFit managing director, Martin Post. “The energy transition is in full swing and we see our role in e-mobility in this.

“To contribute to the energy transition, we will ensure that maintenance and repairs on all kinds of electric vehicles can be carried out easily and quickly. That is why we are expanding from a garage for cars to an e-mobility service for electric vehicles.”

KwikFit says the Amsterdam EV garage will function as a ‘test lab’ for e-mobility where various new types of electric vehicles can go for service, other than just cars. The firm cites e-cargo bikes, e-microcars and light electric vehicles (LEVs) as examples of what it will look at.

The aim is to learn from this and ultimately roll out the e-servicing concept at all KwikFit garages. Indeed, with at least 30 cities in the Netherlands implementing a zero-emission zone by 2025, a number of KwikFit garages will no longer be accessible except by electric vehicles in a few years’ time.

“How the Dutch move from A to B is going to change drastically in the coming years and we see a major role for ourselves in this,” concluded Pieter Bikker, the director of e-mobility at KwikFit Netherlands.