UK Pushes for Lower E-Bike Prices as US Sees Hikes

Plus, an AI-powered rear bike camera and app keeps cyclists safer.

May 28, 2024

Welcome to the Micromobility Newsletter, your weekly digest of important events and industry news in the world of personal transportation.

Let the countdown begin…

Can you believe Micromobility Europe is less than 10 days away? Check out the fully loaded program for Amsterdam. The response so far has been fantastic—so much so that we are nearly at capacity. If you haven’t booked your tickets yet, now would be a good time to do so.

  • Heads up: Full-access passes are available for +60% until May 31st.

Want to come to Micromobility Europe for free? We’re offering all-access passes to volunteers who can help lend a hand with set-up and check-in in Amsterdam next week. If this sound interesting to you, please get in touch immediately. 

What You Need to Know Today

The U.K.’s Trade Remedies Authority has recommended eliminating e-bike duties, a move that would result in an average savings of $330 per e-bike and potentially boost unit sales in the U.K. by 31,000.

Here in the U.S., the current 25% tariff exclusions on e-bikes is set to expire on June 14. This tariff expiration is separate from the recently proposed EV tariffs by the Biden administration.

Luna Systems has announced the Oculus, an AI-powered rear camera for cyclists that can detect oncoming vehicles. The integrated app also uses heat mapping from other riders to identify infrastructure issues and obstructions on the road. FYI Luna will be showcasing its AI tech at Micromobility Europe next week…

Image Credit: Luna Systems

Indonesia is investing $455 million in subsidies to help make electric motorcycles more affordable for buyers and accelerate the country’s green transition. It’s expected that the program will put one million electric two-wheelers on the road.

Electrek journalist Micah Toll recently visited several Chinese electric mobility manufacturing facilities. His latest tour featured the Lishui factory, which produces controller units for many popular e-bike brands. (PS Did we mention Micah will be at Micromobility Europe next week to check out the latest innovations?)

Navee is launching the M1 e-bike which is designed to reduce operational costs and total cost of ownership of fleet e-bikes for shared operators. BTW, you will be able to see the M1 at Micromobility Europe and America events this year.

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by… Quectel

Does your work involve fleet operations and management? You should check out this new whitepaper about how the latest breakthroughs in GNSS tech are shaking up asset tracking. In summary…

📡 Historically, attaining accurate positioning for mass-market IoT devices has posed challenges due to constraints in GNSS technology, particularly in urban settings where signal interferences and obstructions are prevalent.

🛵 However, operators can now address these challenges through three methods: multi-band GNSS, RTK positioning, and dead reckoning (DR).

🚀 Field trials suggest that integrating GNSS with DR or RTK substantially enhances positioning precision, even amidst demanding city landscapes.

PS Download the whitepaper to be automatically entered for a chance to win a free ticket to Micromobility Europe in Amsterdam on June 5-6.

Italian EV motorcycle manufacturer Energica is extending its partnership with Siemens to continue battery R&D using advanced CAD-modeling software for virtual simulation testing.

Oben Electric, the maker of the Rorr e-motorcycle, plans to expand across India with 50 new showrooms and 12 service centers by the end of 2024.

Arizona’s state legislature recently passed regulations that target more powerful e-bikes and e-motorcycles, like SurRon and Talaria, requiring riders to be licensed to operate and their vehicles to be insured.

Image Credit: Talaria

Bo Mobility and Hypetex are developing the world’s first e-scooter manufactured with colored flax fiber, FlaxTex, which is 100 percent biodegradable allowing for a net positive carbon impact during manufacturing. You can ask Bo’s CEO about the new material science behind the scooter during his presentation at Micromobility Europe in June.

Rhode Island is trying to ban kei cars, a type of tiny, fuel-efficient Japanese truck.

Cambridge Electric Transport (CET) is seeking £900,000 in seed funding to begin manufacturing passenger and cargo CitiPod e-bikes and expand to new markets in the UK and Europe.

Image Credit: Citipod

India-based Zypp Electric has raised $15M, led by Japanese oil and energy conglomerate ENEOS, to fuel expansion for its EV-moped rental service to Southeast Asia.

The future of Onyx Motorbikes, a struggling micromobility startup from Los Angeles, is in limbo after its owner died without a will or succession plan. “A battle between Oxygen Funding, two former shareholders and Onyx’s Chinese parts supplier is now raging over who controls Onyx’s remaining assets – bikes, chargers and batteries – and who gets to be made whole first.”

An earlier version of this newsletter incorrectly stated that some Lyft e-bikes were being recalled for braking issues. We regret the error.

Like what you’re seeing here? Ride along with us every week for free.