PANOT Mobility opens its doors in Barcelona to champion urban mobility
Innovation, transformation, commitment, and design. This is PANOT Mobility, the new urban mobility brand born in Barcelona to meet the needs of an environment increasingly aware and committed to sustainable urbanism. A project with a very clear premise: to demonstrate that moving around the city in a healthy and efficient way has a much more positive impact on people and the environment than we can imagine, and at the same time, to initiate a real change in urban mobility, which is now as necessary as it is unavoidable.
Thus, the flagship of PANOT Mobility, located in the premises of the Illa Augusta building by Núñez i Navarro, has already opened its doors, exceeding all expectations with an exceptional launch: PANOT, the first 100% sustainable e-bike, made in Barcelona.
Once again we wanted to meet with Didac Sabaté and Álvaro Ovejero, the driving forces behind the brand, to talk about sustainable urban mobility, carbon-free cities and, of course, to get to know PANOT thoroughly. We can tell you that, if in June they captivated us with a preview of what was going to be their project, now that they present it to us in full, we can only fall in love with it completely.
When asked about the role of the bicycle in transforming cities, the answer is clear: “At PANOT, we believe in the transformative power of the bicycle and its impact on the new culture of urban mobility. We believe in a city without harmful fumes, in short, in a friendlier place for everyone. The environment has been evolving for years and calling for a change in the way we move, and in recent months this process has accelerated even more if possible. We are all very aware, now more than ever, that our actions have a direct impact on our well-being and that of everyone else. If we want to opt for a higher quality of life, smarter cities, and greater protection of our environment, there is only one answer: commitment and action”.
For this reason, under the slogan when you move your consciousness, you move everyone's, PANOT is here to promote sustainable mobility in Barcelona: “For us, this bicycle is the vehicle that will help us convey this message, to fulfill our mission of championing this transformation of cities, which has already begun in Barcelona, and to do so actively. We don't want it to remain just empty words, we want it to be a reality and not only at a product level, which is why our future idea is to cover more areas so that PANOT Mobility plays a key role in this active transformation. We want to form a community of people who believe in change and who want to be part of it, that's the key”.
PANOT was born from the personal experience of its creators and has been meticulously designed to meet the mobility demands of cities like Barcelona and Madrid: “From the beginning, we knew what we had to achieve in terms of functionality, agility, and reliability. From our experience, we have created a bicycle for everyone. So that even those who are not familiar with cycling can take PANOT and feel comfortable and safe”.
An e-bike entirely conceived, designed, and developed in Barcelona, for which its creators have relied on a top-level partner, one of the largest multidisciplinary studios in Europe that merges design with simulation and prototype creation, located in one of the old textile factories of the industrial Poble Nou: "For us, it was important to work with a studio that perfectly understood our message and the idea we had in mind. Our choice was a success, we immediately saw that this should be the team to help us design and develop our product. We have made many modifications and it took several months to fine-tune the design that was optimal for us, but the whole process has been very flexible".
From this point, with the design already finalized, PANOT Mobility proceeds to purchase components from all over the world: from Canada, Japan, Germany, etc. These are then transported to a warehouse in Portugal where all the parts are assembled, painted, and each unit is distributed.
For Álvaro and Dídac, the support of each of the partners who have been with them from the beginning is one of the undeniable keys to their success: "Ours is a small project, but very ambitious. We have already entered the market with a very strong positioning and that is also thanks to the partners who have joined us on this adventure and with whom we continue to go hand in hand. Because in the end, the key is to keep moving forward, to keep innovating. We have been fortunate to have very committed partners who have believed in the product and our message from the beginning and have made it possible for us now to be launching PANOT Mobility. And this gives you the confidence to think, we are doing it right"
And in this sense they assure that: “The team of Núñez i Navarro has been key for us, to be here today, since we knew in advance that looking for a space for our Flagship with them was a guarantee. And it has been. This location is strategic and says a lot about our project because it is consistent in every way. The location, the sustainable building, everything is aligned and in the end, all these details add up to give the coherence we seek to the entire project”.
A consistency they have managed to maintain without deviating even a millimeter from their initial roadmap, despite the complexity of the current context: “Throughout these months we have encountered many problems that are affecting both inside and outside the cycling industry, which could have made us doubt or stray from our idea, but we are very clear that we must be consistent with our message. If we want to make a sustainable, reliable, functional bike, we must be consistent and carry out this project exactly as we have envisioned from the beginning”.
Every day in our country, there are 123 million trips made, of which more than 50% are urban journeys of less than 10km with an average speed of 10km/h. It is also estimated that by 2050, 68% of the population will live in cities. With these figures on the table, the bicycle reaffirms itself as the most agile, efficient, healthy, and sustainable mode of transport for urban distances of up to 10-15 Km.
As the two partners tell us: "We have created the bicycle that we consider to be ideal for micro-mobility in cities like Barcelona and Madrid, for distances less than 10 kilometers. And the key has been to do it from our own experience. Choosing the wheel size, the motorization, the bike geometry that allows for a comfortable and safe position. Everything. And that's the difference. Because when you import or buy an already made product, you are constrained by what is available, you have no decision-making power. In this project, we have given birth to every detail of the bike from our know-how as users and as professionals in the field".
PANOT is a global brand that is aimed at everyone, because it speaks about urban mobility and has been thought and designed to be just that:
“We have created a product aimed at everyone who wants to move around the city efficiently, healthily, and sustainably. Urban mobility is electric, for many reasons, including the ability to adapt to all types of audiences. One of the main reasons for traveling in cities is to go to work, which is why this bike, thanks to its Shimano Steps E5000 electric motor, allows you to ride without sweating; we forget about the chain to use a grease and rust-free belt that prevents us from staining our trousers; 20-inch wheels, for greater safety; anti-puncture belt system, disc brakes, and with all the payment and financing facilities.”
At the Barcelona flagship store, Álvaro and Didac have created a “multidisciplinary space that will have a showroom, a work area, and a more social section from which to carry out the transformation part and promote the concept of mobility and urban transformation with talks, etc. And that, of course, will have a minimum stock so that people can have immediate access to the bicycles, try the product, etc., even though our main sales channel at the moment is online”.
Introducing PANOT today is no coincidence; it's our unique way of celebrating the European Car-Free Day, an event that marks the end of the European Mobility Week 2021 and is celebrated annually to raise awareness about the importance of acting towards sustainable urban mobility that considers eco-friendly alternatives, such as cycling. Because as they say at PANOT: “Movement is proven by pedaling”. And you, will you join the change?
