🔋 America’s Top EV Isn’t a Car

Plus, Culdesac banks $30M, Ola Electric valued at $5B, and Miami cracks down on scooters again.

January 25, 2022

Welcome to the Micromobility Newsletter. Here’s what’s going on in the wide world of tech, transportation, and cities this week.

Join Us Tomorrow

Before we get started, a quick reminder that we’re hosting a virtual panel discussion tomorrow to ask industry experts about their boldest 2022 predictions for micromobility. It will be like Groundhog’s Day, except for the multibillion micro-EV market 🐿 Don’t miss it!

What You Need to Know This Week

  • City building startup Culdesac has raised a $30M Series A round to create car-free communities from scratch, starting with its first development in Tempe, AZ.

  • Ola Electric has raised $200M, bringing its valuation to $5B from $3B in September last year. The fundraise arrives as the ride-hail spinoff starts to deliver its first electric two-wheelers in India.

  • Miami has revoked the permits for five out of its seven scooter providers for their alleged failure to address safety issues. The move comes two months after the city halted then reinstated its scooter program in the space of just a few days. Following the latest shake up, Helbiz and Spin are the only companies still permitted to operate.

  • In 2021, ebikes topped electric cars in US imports for the second year in a row, according to the latest figures from BloombergNEF. America imported nearly 790,000 electric two-wheelers last year, compared to 652,000 electric cars, including plug-in hybrids. It’s also likely that the data underestimates ebikes’ market penetration, because it does not include sales by popular D2C companies like Rad Power.

  • Has your local bike shop undergone a change in management recently? Major bicycle producers like Trek and Giant have been on an acquisition spree lately, rolling up independent bike dealers in a bid to increase their bargaining power with component makers.

  • On some of London’s main roads, bicycles now outnumber motor vehicles, including passenger cars and trucks. Could the British capital be approaching a tipping point in mode shift?

  • Remote work has devastated New York City’s commuter rail lines, with ticket sales down 75%. But in Paris, transit ridership is almost back to pre-pandemic levels. What’s the secret sauce, Paris?

  • When the pandemic hit, the Philippines built 500km of bike lanes in less than a year to accommodate a massive uptick in cycling.

  • GoPuff is telling investors its business model is more Amazon than Uber, hoping to assuage concerns that instant commerce cannot scale profitably.

  • VanMoof offers a peak “under the hood” of its ultrafast V ebike, which has over 10,000 preorders.

  • Swiftmile is partnering with Soltsol AG to expand LEV charging in Germany.

  • Media coverage of e-scooters has become less critical over the years, according to a recent literature review, suggesting that the initial backlash sparked by the emergence of these mostly safe, mostly clean vehicles may be coming to an end.

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  • Here’s an interesting newsletter that explores the secondary market for used micromobility devices.

  • French mobility data startup Fluctuo has raised $1.8m in seed funds.

  • Accell Group is being bought by a private consortium for $1.76B.

  • Peloton’s shares tumbled below IPO price last week after the fitness company announced it would temporarily halt the production of its products due to slowing user growth.

Jobs to Be Done

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