UPS Pedals Into Paris
Plus, your next traffic ticket might come from a cop riding an e-bike.
Welcome to the Micromobility Newsletter, your weekly digest of important events and industry news in the world of personal transportation.
Before we get down to business, a quick reminder that tickets to Micromobility America are on sale for $225 until this Friday (10/24). If you haven’t registered yet, this is one of your last chances to attend North America’s premier tradeshow for small EVs at a discount. Join us in sunny SoCal on Nov 14-15 - register now.
What You Need to Know Today
UPS announced it is launching a six-month e-cargo bike delivery pilot in Paris next April. E-bikes are actually nothing new to UPS—the logistics giant already has similar operations in cities in Britain, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Ireland, and the US—but the French capital will be one of its largest and most complex test markets yet.
UK-based Fin, a last-mile delivery startup that specializes in electric cargo bikes, has raised $7M in seed funding. The firm plans to use the new funding to expand into the US market.
Germany’s OnoMotion has slipped into insolvency following a sales slump. However, the last-mile micromobility startup is optimistic about the future as it looks to restructure with a strategic investor.
Monogoto, a startup specializing in software-defined connectivity (including for many micromobility companies), has raised $27M in a Series A round led by Toyota Ventures.
You can bet we’ll discuss what Monogoto’s big fundraise means for the future of SDVs on our next webinar: “Bye-Bye Barriers: Removing Obstacles for Connected Vehicles.” Join us, alongside the CEOs of Monogoto and Joyride, for an in-depth conversation about AI, the data revolution, and the implications for your fleet. We’ll help show you how better connectivity can accelerate profitability for operators through less revenue leakage, better OPEX/ROI, and more brand loyalty. Register here.
Egyptian shared micromobility startup Rabbit Mobility announced a $1.3M investment round to fuel expansion across North Africa. The startup aims to deploy its first international fleet in Morocco in early 2025.
Gogoro is expanding into the Singapore market with three new models of e-mopeds and battery-swapping stations.
Dutch e-bike maker Optima Cycles announced that it acquired D2C cargo bike maker Dolly Bikes.
Belgian e-bike buyers are gravitating more toward pre-owned speed pedalecs (pedal-assisted Class 3 e-bikes). Sales of used models grew by over 17% in the first 9 months of 2024, while purchases of new models experienced a nearly 18% decline.
One of the leading causes of e-bike fires in the UK is “incomplete conversion kits.” Many e-bike conversion kits only include the motor and controller, but exclude the battery and charger. This leaves consumers responsible for selecting the right products to ensure safety, which they frequently misjudge.
African e-moto producer Ampersand opened a new 21,000 sq/m production facility in Nairobi, Kenya that will have production capacity of over 1,400 electric motorcycles per month.
Capital Bikeshare broke ridership records in the Arlington and Washington DC areas in August, with e-bike usage eclipsing traditional (pedal-only) bikes for the first time.
Your next traffic ticket might be issued by a cop on an e-bike. Police departments across the United States are mixing up their patrol fleets with smaller vehicles that can go places that SUVs can’t.
Fairway Bikes is attempting to speed up the pace of play on golf courses with its dedicated 3-wheeled golfing e-bike. The Seattle-based startup just raised a $1.25M seed round to initiate production.
P.S. Does your work involve managing fleets of e-bikes, e-scooters, and the like? This interesting new whitepaper discusses the advantages of combining GNSS modules with a broad range of connectivity options (antenna, RTK correction services, design review) into a “one-stop-shop” solution that could transform your high-precision IoT projects.
Download the whitepaper for your chance to enter to win a free ticket to Micromobility America next month in Southern California. We’re giving away a free ticket each week to one lucky winner.
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