Photo: Spin
A couple of years ago, no one would have guessed that scooters would be the future of city mobility. The e-scooter business grew so big Ford wanted a piece of the action. Well, the U.S carmaker just announced it is selling its e-scooter business Spin to Tier, a German competitor, for equity.
In 2018, America’s big car company decided to go small and bought Spin, an e-scooter business. It was the first time an automaker dove into a segment typically controlled by tech companies.
The U.S. automaker is now selling that division to its European competitor. According to Ford, the merger will offer the scale required in the competitive micro-mobility sector, CNBC reported.
Last year, Berlin-based e-scooter company Tier purchased bike-sharing platform Nextbike, and Vento Mobility, jumping to the top of the ladder as the largest service provider.
Tier CEO Lawrence Leuschner said the German company is now the largest multimodal micro-mobility operator globally. The acquisition put them above U.S. rivals like Bird and Lime, operating a fleet of 250,000 units in 410 cities across the world.
After acquiring Nextbike and Vento Mobility, Tier merged bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-mopeds, and cargo bikes under one roof. Aquiring Spin is a strategic plan for the German company to make head-way into the North American market.
Spin isn’t a big scooter company compared to rivals Bird and Lime. Therefore, merging with a multinational company like Tier offers it a competitive advantage. VP of new business at Ford, Frank Louis-Victor, said the U.S. automaker was looking forward to remaining as a strategic investor in Tier.
Spin currently holds around 70 licenses to operate its e-scooters across the U.S. Tier hopes the merger will help increase its fleet to 300,000, spreading its wings across 500 cities in about 20 countries.
The e-scooter segment is a big market in itself. With the growing number of automobiles and influx in cities, there’s never been as much demand to get people from one point of town to the other with ease.
The U.S. automaker is now selling that division to its European competitor. According to Ford, the merger will offer the scale required in the competitive micro-mobility sector, CNBC reported.
Last year, Berlin-based e-scooter company Tier purchased bike-sharing platform Nextbike, and Vento Mobility, jumping to the top of the ladder as the largest service provider.
Tier CEO Lawrence Leuschner said the German company is now the largest multimodal micro-mobility operator globally. The acquisition put them above U.S. rivals like Bird and Lime, operating a fleet of 250,000 units in 410 cities across the world.
After acquiring Nextbike and Vento Mobility, Tier merged bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-mopeds, and cargo bikes under one roof. Aquiring Spin is a strategic plan for the German company to make head-way into the North American market.
Spin isn’t a big scooter company compared to rivals Bird and Lime. Therefore, merging with a multinational company like Tier offers it a competitive advantage. VP of new business at Ford, Frank Louis-Victor, said the U.S. automaker was looking forward to remaining as a strategic investor in Tier.
Spin currently holds around 70 licenses to operate its e-scooters across the U.S. Tier hopes the merger will help increase its fleet to 300,000, spreading its wings across 500 cities in about 20 countries.
The e-scooter segment is a big market in itself. With the growing number of automobiles and influx in cities, there’s never been as much demand to get people from one point of town to the other with ease.
Google News