The market for electric scooters - France (2024)

1.2 Global market trends

Governments are mobilizing to accelerate the energy transition in the transport sector. Transport as a whole accounts for **% of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the IPCC, and around **% of CO* emissions from fossil fuel combustion.

Share of transport in GHG emissions France, ****, in Source: ****

To meet these environmental challenges, more and more consumers are turning to electric *-wheelers, which can considerably reduce their ecological footprint. Electric *-wheelers include both electric motorcycles and electric scooters. However, the share of electric scooters is much greater, as they are more maneuverable. According to Mordor Intelligence, sales of electric motorcycles account for just *% of total sales of electric motorcycles and scooters.

Revenue split between scooters and electric motorcycles World, ****, in Source: ****

According to Grand View Research, the electric scooter market was valued at $** billion USD in **** , and is expected to grow at an annual rate of *.*% over the period ****-****, reaching nearly $** billion by ****.

Market size trends for electric scooters and motorcycles World, ****-****, in billions of USD Source: ****

The Asia-Pacific region accounts for the largest share of the market (***), as it is the region of the world where ecological awareness is most pronounced, and where the rise in gasoline and diesel prices has ...

1.3 French market trends

According to data fromACEM (***), **,*** new electric scooters were registered in Europe in ****, compared with **,*** in ****, an increase of **.*%. France appears to be a major player in this energy transition.

To assess the size of the French market, we can base ourselves on the number of electric scooter sales in France, as well as on the number of registrations.

The market for electric scooters in France is expected to grow strongly in **** (***), due to high inflation reducing the purchasing power of the French.

The number of internal combustion scooters sold fell between **** and **** (***), again against a backdrop of high inflation and reduced purchasing power.

Comparison of the number of electric and internal combustion scooters sold France; ****-****, in units Source: ****

According to CSIAM (***), France registered **,*** electric scooters from January to March ****, including *,*** electric scooters, i.e. almost **% electric, a percentage set to rise.

Scooter registrations from January to March **** France, Jan-March ****, in number of units Source: ****

1.4 International trade

If we look at the trade flows for electrically-powered motorcycles on the Foreign Trade Figures **** website, we can see a great diversity among France's customer countries: Italy and Germany lead the way in terms of value of exports in ****, with **% and **% respectively, closely followed by the Netherlands and Switzerland with **% each.

Main customer countries for electric motorcycles World, ****, in % of value Source: ****

As for supplier countries, they are less diversified: China accounts for the vast majority of imports into France, at **% in ****, followed far behind byGermany at **%.

Main countries supplying electric motorcycles World, **** Source: ****

the balance of trade in electric motorcycles has been in increasing deficit since ****, with an upturn from **** onwards. China offers very attractive automotive prices, and electric scooter manufacturing is no exception. However, French companies are emerging and striving to show production or at least assembly in French factories, but French production for French customers is not counted in the trade balance as customs does not record these intra-national flows. Trade balance for electric motorcycles France, ****-**** Source: ****

2.1 Consumer expectations

Electric scooters offer many advantages in the field of transport: the scooter itself is easy to handle, and can weave between cars to reduce traffic jams. It's also a small, lightweight vehicle that makes parking easier, especially in big cities where there's less and less space available. What's more, scooters are generally less polluting than cars: a scooter emits around **g of CO* per km, compared with an average of ***g for new cars. What's more, if the scooter is electric, CO* emissions per km fall to *, making it an excellent ally for two-wheeled enthusiasts looking to reduce their carbon footprint.

In addition to government initiatives, consumers are also keen to acquire a more environmentally-friendly transport vehicle: according to IFOP, in ****, **% of those surveyed consider that the government should give priority to reducing the negative impact of transport on the environment.**% consider this to be the government's first priority for improvement. This desire to reduce one's carbon footprint reinforces the potential of electric scooters, which have less of a negative impact on the environment.

Also, **% of those polled consider that the development of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles should be a priority for the government over the next five years.

Transport ...

2.2 Demand trends

We can study Google search trends to see how the appeal of electric scooters has grown in recent years. The results reflect the proportion of searches for the word "electric scooter" in France from **** to ****, in relation to the region with the highest rate of use of this keyword (***).

Evolution of "electric scooter" search interest on Google France, ****-**** Source: ****

This graph shows that demand is seasonal, since interest in the search "electric scooter" is around * times higher in August than in December: we can hypothesize that this is due to the fact that the electric scooter has less interest during the winter period as it is not a covered vehicle, which therefore makes its use in bad weather sometimes unpleasant.

The graph also shows that the appeal of electric scooters has grown steadily over the past * years, season by season: this demonstrates the potential of electric scooters, which are arousing growing interest among the French.

If we look at "electric scooter" search interest by region, we see that the Languedoc-Roussillon region has the highest search interest, followed by the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. These are regions with large cities, where electric scooters make it easy to park and avoid traffic ...

2.3 New regulations in Paris should boost the electric scooter market

New regulations for internal combustion *-wheelers should boost sales of electric scooters. From September *, ****, parking for internal combustion-powered *-wheelers will be subject to a fee. Parking spaces have become chargeable both on spaces already dedicated to *-wheeler parking, and on the paid parking strip shared with cars. However, electric *-wheelers remain exempt from parking charges. This measure was prompted both by Paris City Hall's desire to provide the same level of payment for car and *-wheeler users, and also to combat environmental damage and noise pollution, thus promoting the use of electric vehicles.

2.4 The shared mobility trend

Shared mobility refers to the public availability of what are traditionally individual means of transport: cars, scooters, bicycles and, more recently, in dense urban areas.

The new regulations mentioned in the paragraph above should also boost the option of self-service electric scooters for car-sharing purposes, described in the graphs below as "free-floating". In ****, journeys made with these types of scooters will account for *% of total journeys made in shared mobility .

Distribution of the number of journeys made using shared mobility France, ****, in % of number of trips Source: ****

However, in terms of value, self-service scooters have a larger share, estimated at **% of revenues (***).

Market share by value of shared mobility services  

3.1 Production and assembly of an electric scooter

Each company has its own policy regarding the production and delivery of components, and the assembly of electric scooters. Companies may decide to have their own motor and battery production sites: in this case, they have the expertise on their components and can manage flows more easily. Where quantities do not permit the means for customized production, companies may decide to call on a subcontractor specializing in particular equipment. The various components, either subcontracted or produced by the company itself, are then assembled in an assembly plant.

If we take the example of the BMW CE **, which will account for the highest sales of electric scooters in France in ****, the assembly plant is located in Berlin. The Berlin plant also manufactures the motor and battery storage units. The modules are also produced in Germany, at the Dingolfing plant in Bavaria.

As for Niu, China's largest lithium-ion electric scooter manufacturer and one of Europe's market leaders, it has a factory in Changzou but relies on a French company to supply the batteries for its scooters. Forsee Power specializes in the development and production of batteries for the road, rail and marine sectors.

Piaggio, the world-renowned Italian manufacturer of engines, motorcycles, scooters and ...

3.2 Self-service electric scooters

More and more self-service electric scooter stations are springing up in major cities. Self-service electric scooters have all the same advantages as electric scooters: they allow you to get around traffic, avoid traffic jams, are maneuverable and easy to use, and can be used to carry small errands and bags. As the customer does not own the scooter, he or she can use it for one-way trips only, and also avoid wasting time finding a parking space, by using the space available in the electric scooter kiosks. It's also a particularly popular solution for tourists, who can't take their personal transport abroad with them, and who like to use self-service electric scooters to avoid the high cost of weekly rentals. This service has also been boosted by the introduction of paid parking for thermal *-wheelers.

In the same way as for electric scooters in Paris, a call for tenders has been launched for self-service electric scooters . the aim is to restrict the number of operators in Paris and avoid an excess of self-service electric scooters clogging up Parisian streets. The call for tenders will be based on the following criteria in particular: compliance with environmental criteria, quality of service, and ability ...

3.3 Distribution of electric scooters

Electric scooters are sold via * main distribution channels. Electric scooters are typically available from the manufacturer's own stores, or via their online site, with home delivery available for a fee or free of charge. All electric scooter manufacturers' websites feature a map of available dealers, so you can find scooters for sale near you. In fact, there are a number of electric scooter dealers who source their products from the various electric scooter manufacturers, and offer a wide range of products: these are dealers who resell vehicles in their physical stores, or online sites specializing in resale.this is the case, for example, of Go*Roues, an online site specializing in the sale of electric motorcycles and scooters, with ** brands and *** models. The founder of Go*Roues also announced a *-fold increase in sales of electric vehicles: "We expect to more than double the number of vehicles sold in August **** compared with August ****".[***]

Here's a chart showing the number of dealerships in Paris where it's possible to find vehicles sold by international electric scooter manufacturers BMW Motorrad, Niu, SuperSoco and Piaggio, as well as Pink Mobility, the French electric scooter manufacturer. SuperSoco has the strongest presence in Paris, with ** retail ...

4.1 Best sellers 2023 in France

Moto. net calculates the number of electric *-wheeler sales in **** for the various models available. At the top of the ranking, well ahead of the others, is the automotive giant BMW and its subsidiary BMW Motorrad, which has developed the BMW CE **, which boasts many advantages: modern design, extreme maneuverability, driving pleasure and a relatively fast recharge from *% to **% in ** minutes. What's more, it's also a connected scooter, thanks to the BMW Motorrad Connected application. Although this model is the best-selling, with *,*** units sold, the price remains very high (***) compared with other models, positioning it as a very high-end model among existing electric scooter models.

in ****, Vincent Salimon, President of BMW France, emphasizes the company's determination to establish itself as a distributor of new, promising solutions: "The strength of BMW Group France lies in its ability to offer a wide range of solutions, including plug-in hybrids, electric vehicles and, from ****, a test fleet of hydrogen-powered vehicles".

Ranking of electric scooter models by number of sales France, ****, in number of units sold Source: ****

In second place is the Silence S** model , with *** units sold. This scooter model comes in * sub-models: Silence S** Basic, Silence S** Connected and Silence S** Plus. These three ...

4.2 Self-service electric scooter rates

Self-service electric scooter rental operators offer a range of different rental packages, which allow you to reduce the price per minute when you buy lots of minutes. In particular, self-service electric scooter rental means you don't have to pay for insurance, as the rental companies include partnerships with insurance companies: for example, during a Cityscoot journey, the customer is fully insured by partner Allianz, provided he or she complies with the service's general conditions of use. Self-service scooters also make it possible to avoid the cost of renting parking lots or paying parking fees.

The operating principle is simple: to take a scooter, simply find one nearby on the application's map and reserve it.

Although placed in receivership in November **** and acquired in February **** by its Spanish competitor Cooltra, Cityscoot had been the market leader in electric scooter rental in Paris for over ** years. In ****, the company offered rental by the minute for *.**€/min, as well as packs from **min to ***min, for a decreasing price from *.**€/min to *.**€/min. The company also has a special offer for under-**s, with **min at *.**€/min. Cityscoot offers the same in Nice for a lower price of *.**€/min. Cityscoot is also present in ...

4.3 Battery exchange stations

Finally, another formula is emerging to solve the problem of relatively long recharging times for electric scooters. Since ****, the operator Zeway has been offering scooter rentals with removable rechargers, which can be exchanged at Zeway stations with already-charged electric batteries. This offer works as a monthly subscription, with prices varying according to the type of Zeway scooter used (***). Zeway has ** battery exchange stations in Paris and the suburbs, located in partner stores such as BNP Paribas, Monoprix, Esso stations and laundromats. The operating principle is simple, and works via an application that lists the various stations on a map and indicates the scooter's charge level. Recharging is also as straightforward as possible: the scooter's battery is located under the seat, so all you have to do is pull it out, pass it in front of the station's scanner, place it in a recharging compartment and pick up another battery already charged: the recharging mechanism takes just ** seconds. In terms of pricing, Zeway offers * scooters: * **cc equivalents and * ***cc equivalents. With the cheapest option, you can rent an electric scooter for €***/month , subject to a *-year commitment.

Zeway offer prices in Paris, ****

Source: ****

5.1 Permit for electric scooters

The license required to drive an electric scooter depends on the power of the machine and its internal combustion equivalent: **cc or ***cc. A **cc equivalent can be driven from the age of ** with an AM license (***), which is a European license to drive a light moped or quadricycle.

A ***cc equivalent can be driven from the age of **, provided you have an A* license (***) or a B license, subject to two conditions: at least * years' driving experience and specific *-hour training.

5.2 Ecological bonus

The "bonus écologique" (***), which reduces the total cost.

To qualify, you must

-be a natural person of legal age and domiciled in France, or a legal entity with an establishment in France

-purchase the vehicle or lease it for two years or more.

-from October **, ****, vehicles must also meet a minimum environmental score, the calculation method for which is defined by regulation.

For electric scooters, the amount of the ecological bonus is €***, provided that the maximum net power of the motor is greater than or equal to * kilowatts. [***]

6.1 Player segmentation

As seen earlier in the study, we can distinguish * types of player: international leaders who produce electric scooters and will account for the majority of sales in France in ****, self-service electric scooter rental operators who are on the rise, and French electric scooter manufacturers who strive to display "made in France" manufacturing.

Sales table for the main market players

• BMW Mottorrad
• VmotoSoco Limited
• NIU
• Silence
• Eccity
• Pink Mobility
• Go2Roues
• Zeway
• Troopy
• Yego Urban Mobility
• Piaggio
• Bolloré