Green Product Award goes to citkar: A Loadster for the trade

Berlin/Munich, March 24, 2020 – In the course of joint activities with the Berlin Chamber of Crafts, citkar received the “Green Product Award” last week for its fully covered cargo bike Loadster. The prize awarded jointly with the Gesellschaft für Handwerksmessen places particular emphasis on the connection between design, sustainability and business.

“We are very happy about the award, because we have been seeing ourselves as a sustainable and customer-oriented company from day one,” says citkar’s CEO Jonas Kremer. The 26-year-old, born in Bonn, founded the company in Berlin in 2018 after working on his idea of ​​a fully covered cargo bike since 2013.

“We have oriented ourselves towards the needs of our target groups since the company was founded,” reports Kremer. This also includes the various facets and needs of the craft guild. Here in particular, a new approach is needed in the field of cargo bikes, as Kremer reports from many conversations: “Especially in the city centres, there are more and more traffic jams, hardly any parking spaces and many hurdles for craftsmen.” For many, however, the bikes currently available are no substitute for standard small vans.

The Loadster is supposed to change that. Thanks to its four wheels and the specially developed wheel suspension, it is particularly resilient and shows unchanged driving behavior even with a high payload, which is particularly important when cornering. The Loadster also drives past the traffic jam on the bike path and can be parked as a pedelec directly in front of the destination. Thanks to its modular charging system, it can be adapted to the individual requirements of the respective industry.

citkar contacted the Berlin Chamber of Crafts for better knowledge of the market. Both of them have already held many events together in recent years. citkar won an award as the best start-up during the Start-up Night at the Central Association of German Crafts. This subsequently led to the nomination for the Green Product Award.

At the award ceremony in Munich, many craftsmen were represented themselves and were able to get an idea of ​​the Loadster on site. Jochen Buck, a master carpenter from Dettingen, says: “I don’t like going into the city centres anymore. But that would be different with the Loadster, so I could cover most of the journeys. It’s also just fun to drive it, as it offers a real go-kart feeling,” adds Buck with a smile.

Another participant reported that the cities are now building many cycle paths, but that there is a lack of useful alternatives on the cycle market. “The car is also used for convenience, because you want to drive safely and comfortably,” she said. The Loadster has this comfort for them and can induce many people to change trains. “It also looks really great!” She adds.

The Loadster owes its appearance, which has already been awarded the German Design Award, to the collaboration with the Berlin industrial designers from invivo Design. “Even if I was laughed at at first, I have always been aware that the appearance also decides whether someone trusts the Loadster as a commercial vehicle,” says Kremer, explaining his step towards approaching the young designers in 2017.

“We are particularly pleased with the Green Product Award, as it strengthens and confirms our approach of design, sustainability and business in terms of customer orientation,” Kremer concludes. After winning the jury award, there will be a public vote on the audience award by April 30, 2020. citkar is happy about every vote under:

Green Product Award – audience award