Four micromobility trends emerging in the US
Photo is illustrative. Credits to Robinson Greig on Unsplash
Comodule’s team participated in Micromobility America, one of the biggest events in the light electric vehicle industry. Over a thousand micromobility movers and shakers gathered in San Francisco for two days to share new ideas. Here are the four trends we noticed at Micromobility America.
1. Last mile delivery is embracing micromobility
As the delivery industry is growing, the need for more efficient vehicles increases with it, and light electric vehicles are a great solution for last-mile delivery. They are smaller (whoosh by the traffic jams) and more cost-efficient. Delivery giants like FedEx and UPS are testing some form of LEV-s and most likely the rest will follow. For the micromobility industry, commercial use cases are a huge business opportunity.
Last-mile delivery is also shifting form. While cargo bikes have been trending for a while now, especially for delivery purposes, it might just be that your next meal order is delivered with a cargo scooter. It’s clear that we’ll continue to see electric last-mile delivery vehicles in a variety of shapes and sizes.
2. Subscription is the new black
It’s not just the vehicles that are changing, it’s also the business models. The industry is pivoting away from shared vehicles towards owned and subscription-based models. Subscribing to use an e-bike or cargo e-scooter on a monthly basis gives people a lot more flexibility while removing most of the responsibilities - somebody else will deal with it if the vehicle gets stolen or needs maintenance.
Take for example the Oakland-based e-scooter brand Unagi. They are heavily promoting their e-scooter subscription model in LA and New York, claiming that 20 people sign up for an Unagi subscription for everyone who buys a scooter outright.
The development of vehicle connectivity is supporting this trend as IoT technology makes it easier to rent, track and manage vehicles both for the companies and end-users. Read how Comodule connected the e-bike fleet of bike-subscription pioneer Swapfiets.
3. How micro can we go?
The discussion is not only macro vs micro but it’s now about micro vs even more micro. E-bikes and e-scooters are well-received by commuters across the world, but there are people who want clean transportation in an even smaller form (we get it, storage space can be a tricky topic in small New York apartments). As an example, Escend unveiled Blades, a pair of 400W motorized rollerblades at Micromobility America.
Luckily, light electric vehicles are not only getting smaller but the range of modalities is increasing to accommodate different needs - from electric rollerblades to VOK-bikes.
4. One charger to rule them all
With more and more industries moving towards a common charger (and the European Union even making it mandatory for handheld electronics in 2024), it is not surprising that LEVs are next to follow this trend.
The first micromobility vehicle to adopt this technology is the European-made electric scooter Äike T with USB-C charging ports both for the scooter itself, as well as its removable battery. With a standard laptop charger, a full charge only takes 5-6h.
