Shared electric scooters have become a new outlet in the United States. Recently, "Limebike" completed a US$250 million financing led by Google Ventures, and it is rumored that "Bird" will complete Sequoia-led round C financing of an estimated US$150 million. It is said that companies including Uber (Jump acquired in April this year), Lyft, ofo, etc. are also interested in providing shared electric scooters in the United States and are applying for relevant licenses.
Although the current domestic shared travel field is not as hot as it was at the beginning, the service of shared electric scooters is likely to be on the way.
However, there are still many uncertain factors whether shared electric scooters can become the outlet in China:
■ First, the sharing economy is capital-driven, but currently Mobike is incorporated by Meituan and ofo is also entangled in everything. In addition to the current fund-raising difficulties, whether the shared travel track can still obtain capital blessings has a problem. Certainty
■ Second, according to public information, many places including Beijing and Guangzhou have made it clear that electric scooters are illegal on the road, which is also likely to become the biggest obstacle to this service;
■ Third, the unit price of electric scooters is higher than that of bicycles. From the perspective of financial models, the business model may be more difficult to pass. Prior to this, no company has taken the lead in sharing electric bicycles.