Shared-mobility is reshaping the world of transportation offering end-users the possibility to travel around urban places with various alternative ways. Bike-sharing, car-sharing, ride-sharing complement public transport and help people to go from point A to point B fast & conveniently. The past couple of years e-scooter sharing is the new ’’rising star’’ and has been dynamically expanding in different cities, such a Barcelona, Paris & Berlin.

Internet of Things (IoT) has become a modern tech buzzword in almost every industry: from internet-connected fridges to smart toilets. Some say that IoT “changes everything” and others tell that this is “just another hype”.

Since the electrification of the bicycle strongly affected the industry we have observed an ongoing trend among e-bike manufacturers: companies who increase their development department vs. companies who fully rely on their supplier and develop towards being assembler and distributor only. The recent acquisition of connectivity provider COBI by Bosch e-Bike systems can be seen as another indicator for the scenery where supplier dictates the vehicles on-board technology completely.

2017 was spectacular year filled with incredible business growth, full of exhibitions, exciting projects and many market entries. Hereby looking back into most important highlights of 2017 and sharing exciting targets for 2018. Enjoy!

The bike industry is dominated by supplying companies like no other industry: Supplier R&D departments usually define new standards for the manufacturers’ bikes, supplier brands help to sell. The problems for manufacturers are obvious.

Cties like Oslo, Madrid, Milan, Brussels, Helsinki, Athens & Copenhagen pledged to ban or reduce diesel cars and adopt alternative ways of transportation within the next 5-10 years. Private companies are also setting up car-free projects. For example, BMW is creating a ''Hyperloop'' for bikes & e-bikes where riders will be cycling under a clear ceiling. All these examples showcase that cities are already implementing a strategy where combustion cars shall be replaced from various kinds of light vehicles, such as e-scooters, three-wheeler and bicycles.

Scooter sharing initiated in San Francisco about 5 years ago. The past 2 years has been a tremendous growth. Nowadays there are around 30 cities with scooter sharing schemes and the majority of them are located in Europe.

Thanks to COMODULE’s sharing technology and Kumpan’s Electric Scooters, the German energy supplier Energieversorgung Oberhausen AG is now offering vehicles for rental! Everyone who is at least 18 years old, has a driving license of class B, a smartphone and a bank account, can enjoy the ride with the orange-coloured e-scooters.

COMODULE participated in the Connected Cyclist Conference, organized from European Cyclists Federation and ADFC (Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad-Club). Kristjan Maruste, COMODULE’s CEO, participated in the Panel discussion regarding Smart Integration from & Into the Bike. Together with Jim Meyer from Quarq & Dirk Sandrock from Momes, they shared their learnings about smart product development, as well as the new monetisation opportunities which arise.