🙌 Micromobility Landscape Soars Past 1000 Companies

Tickets ½ Off Til Tomorrow

Hard to believe Micromobility America is barely over two weeks away. On tap, we have a jam-packed agenda with +50 speakers. Join us alongside founders/CEOs from Lime, Unagi, Rad Power Bikes, Arcimoto, Spin, Serve Robotics, Weel, Zoba, Veo, Nimbus, Hived, Marti; top execs from Zoomo, Getir, Lyft, McKinsey, Brompton, Nuro; not to mention the Mayors of New York City, Oakland, and more cities.

Tickets are 50% off until tomorrow. Join us in the SF Bay Area on September 15-16.

This week’s newsletter is presented by… Marti Technologies

Turkey’s largest micromobility company, Marti Technologies Inc., has notified the U.S.’s Securities and Exchange Commission of its intention to list on the New York Stock Exchange via a merger with the American finance company, Galata Acquisition Corp. Marti is seeking approval for the SPAC by the fourth quarter of 2022. Marti has a fully funded fleet of more than 46,000 e-bikes, e-scooters and e-mopeds across 16 Turkish cities. It's also exploring offering Turkish customers ridesharing and e-cars.

Learn more here.

What You Need To Know This Week

• Today we are thrilled to announce that the Micromobility Landscape—our all-in-one database for categorizing the constantly evolving world of micromobility—has surpassed 1,000 organizations. Over on the blog, we recap some key trends defining the industry’s explosive growth over the last few years as well as introduce some new features to the database.

• Tier lays off 16% of its staff as it shifts its focus from growth initiatives to strengthening its ROI.

• California will end the sales of gasoline vehicles by 2035. Meanwhile, the state is working to develop an ebike incentive program for its residents.

• Italian electric motorcycle brand Energica is becoming popular around the globe. In the US they’ve enjoyed 5x sales growth YoY.

• Outstanding auto loan debt in the US has reached $1.43 trillion, with the average loan value exceeding $20,000.

• Despite a reserved outlook on 2022 earnings, Gogoro’s battery swapping program is headed in the right direction as it surpasses 500,000 subscribers. The company claims to provide charging for an astonishing 92% of electric two-wheelers in Taiwan.

• Do we really need EVs with 300 miles of range when the majority of trips are under 6 miles? Edward Niedermeyer, Autonocast podcaster, questions the American desire for vehicles built for extreme distances.

• Blast from the past: The iconic 1950s Isetta bubble car will be reincarnated as a micro-EV convertible. 

• Shared micromobility is getting serious. A new survey from Voi shows that nearly half (48%) of riders use scooters for commuting rather than just fun (30%). That’s down from 40% who said they used scooters mainly for joyriding last year.

• Cars parked in bike lanes are a major safety hazard and headache for cyclists. A groundbreaking New York bill would introduce cameras to photograph offenders and issue tickets.

• Paris will start charging gasoline motorcycles and mopeds for street parking, while electric two- wheelers will continue to park for free.

• “Driving in cities is not fun anymore.” Horace Dediu makes the case for why micromobility can make going places enjoyable again in a new blog post. 

• With not a single road death in four years, the town of Hoboken, NJ is showing that Vision Zero is possible when you combine simple safety measures with real political determination.

• In an effort to fix the many problems caused by delivery trucks driving in a major city, NYC DOT is reaching out to logistics companies to determine how best to initiate cargo bike microhub pilots.

• Here’s your chance to encourage the next generation of micromobility adopters. Lego is holding a public vote to decide which toy piece it should make next, and one of the options is a cargo bike.

• Recent studies show that SUVs and trucks are responsible for a considerable percentage of pedestrian and cyclist deaths (54% increase between 2010 and 2020). A New York legislator has introduced a bill that would require speed governors for large vehicles to mitigate roadway mayhem.

• Vermont becomes the first US state to start an ebike incentive program.

• Taoping, a blockchain company, expands its ebike charging network to more than 50 Chinese cities.

• Biden has pledged to put $7.5 billion toward building 500,000 EV chargers by 2030. Now the electric scooter and bike industry is hustling to make sure it gets a piece of the action.

Pod People

In the latest podcast episode, Oliver Bruce talks to Marcus Li, founder of Eli EV, about:

• His background as an architect and how it influenced his direction into EV design and production

• The Chinese micro electric car manufacturing industry

• The “contract production” approach to manufacturing vehicles for scale

• Eli’s strategy on early stage funding and why VC funding wasn’t the right decision for them

Marcus has a very sound strategy for creating a product and company that is designed to scale in a "capital efficient" way. If you're interested in the hardware side of micromobility, we think you'll really enjoy this one. Listen here.

Jobs To Be Done

Looking for your next opportunity? Search for micromobility jobs on our new and improved platform right now. Our Jobs Board is an expanded, keyword-searchable online hub where you search for open positions and connect with innovative companies seeking top talent in the burgeoning world of new mobility.