The market for electric scooters - Italy

1.2 Global Market

The global electric scooter market was valued at $**.* billion in **** and is expected to reach a value of $**.* billion by ****. The global market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (***) of *.* percent over the forecast period.

Asia-Pacific held the largest market share in ****, with a **.** percent share. Being an automotive hub, the region is expected to dominate the global electric scooter market share with high sales and production.

Global electric scooter market World, ****-****, in billions of dollars Source: ****

1.3 Italian Market

Arriving in Italy at the end of ****, scooter-sharing services realize unprecedented numbers in the pandemic year, becoming in ** months the most popular service in Italy, the one with the greatest presence in southern cities, the one with the most operational vehicles on the roads, as well as the one that realizes the highest number of rentals in ****.

According to the National Observatory of Sharing Mobility (***), in **** * in * shared vehicles in Italy is an electric scooter, while if cars are excluded, there are even * in ** rentals of electric scooters in Italy.

Scooter sharing fleets in Italy Italy, ****-****, in thousands Source: ****

1.4 Impact covid

The Covid-** crisis has generated extraordinary changes on the mobility system of people and goods. The distancing policies in place to curb coronavirus infection reduce the carrying capacity of public transportation: assuming a ** percent reduction in the number of employees going to work by bus and streetcar, using a private car as an alternative, a ** percent increase in traffic related to workers' car travel would be observed. Confartigianato data explain.

To address these changes, the government has put in place the mobility bonus. This is a contribution equal to ** percent of the expenditure incurred and, in any case, in an amount not exceeding *** euros for the purchase of bicycles, including pedal-assisted bicycles, as well as vehicles for personal mobility with predominantly electric propulsion (***) or for the use of shared mobility services for individual use excluding those through cars.

In the year of the pandemic, the number of trips by electric scooter increased by ** percent. The figure is that collected by the company Bird, according to which mobility needs have changed dramatically due to the coronavirus, including alternative mobility. The figure highlights the continued decline in the number of passengers on public transportation.

Source: ****

2.1 Demand analysis: Demand trends and drivers

This market can be segmented according to the type of scooter user; there are two types of customers:

-Users who own a scooter;

-Users who make use of self-service rental solutions.

The trends driving the growth of this sector in Italy are: the need to find a more efficient alternative to public transportation, the focus on more sustainable practices, and the increasing traffic restrictions that local governments are imposing on cars to reduce urban pollution.

The main drivers of growth in this sector are disposable income, which changes depending on the city in which one is located, and the presence of young people. In order to decide whether investing in this sector can be the winning choice within a certain city, it is necessary to take these two factors into consideration.

Another driver of growth is the Mobility Bonus introduced by the government in ****, which has worked as a strong boost to the demand for scooters. We will discuss this bonus in detail in Section *.*.

2.2 Italians' concerns about the safety of scooters

In ****, ** percent of Italians expressed concerns about the safety of electric scooters, according to a YouGov poll. About seven in ** Italians believe the use of electric scooters should be regulated. In particular, eight out of ten respondents believe that users should be required to wear helmets.

Main safety issues of electric scooters Italy, ****, in units Source: ****

2.3 Covid impact on demand for scooters

Will COVID-** change the frequency of scooter use among Italians? A survey conducted in May **** revealed no significant changes in usage intentions. The majority of respondents (***) do not already use scooters. Among the remainder who do use scooters, half said they did not anticipate any change in their usage pattern. Only *% thought the situation would lead to an increase in the frequency of scooter use.

How often will you use your scooter after COVID ****? Italy, ****, in % Source: ****

2.4 Number of accidents in microbiome sharing

In the demand analysis, it is also useful to analyze the number of accidents in micromobility sharing as more accidents will lead consumers in the future to distrust and worry about a particular micromobility service.

The analysis is based on data from operators of micromobility sharing services. These operators were asked to report the number of accidents involving sharing vehicles over the year **** (***)*. On the basis of this data, indicators were constructed with which to compare the service types and see whether the electric scooter, but also the service performed through it, is characterized by a higher or lower accident rate than other vehicle types.

The electric sharing scooter in **** appears to be characterized by a higher accident rate in terms of mileage than the other micromobility sharing vehicles. In terms of rentals/movements, on the other hand, it is scootersharing that shows the highest index.

Incidentality in micromobility sharing Italy, ****, in units Source: ****

2.5 Geographical distribution of demand

Google Trends allows us to analyze interest over time for the word "electric scooters." The graph above represents the proportion of searches for a given keyword in a specific region and for a specific period of time, compared to when the use of that keyword was highest (***). Thus, a value of ** means that the keyword was used less often in the relevant region, and a value of * means that there is not enough data for this keyword. The time period analyzed is ****.

Puglia, Sicily, and Sardinia are the regions that boast the largest number of fans. They are followed among the most affected regions : Lombardy, Calabria, and Piedmont.

Source: ****

3.1 The main players in scooter sharing

Shared mobility services in Italy are mainly made available by U.S. and European companies. Below we provide an analysis of the main operators.

Helbiz

In ****, the global electric micromobility, technology and innovation company, Helbiz, was born. The company was founded and conceived by an Italian-American entrepreneur, Salvatore Palella, and today has about *** employees, present with its electric vehicles in about ** cities globally.

Through an innovative vehicle sharing app designed for the circular economy, Helbiz launched in October **** the first electric scooter sharing service in Italy, paving the way for shared micromobility.

At the same time in Europe, it acquired MiMoto, a leading player in electric mopeds, making Helbiz in Europe the only brand to offer three electric vehicle sharing (***).

Bird Rides

Founded in ****, the company provides electric scooter sharing services in several countries. Lime's main competitor is also valued at about $* billion. in ****, the company invested ** million in the European market to launch its service in ** European cities.

Lime

Neutron Holdings, Inc. operating as LimeBike, provides electric scooter sharing services in various countries. It offers free bikes and floating scooters to be navigated through its mobile app. The company was founded in **** and is based in San Mateo, California. it ...

3.2 The main players in the production of scooters

It is worth pointing out what are the hegemonic brands in the field of production and sale of electric scooters, those that are most successful in Italy.

Among the models of electric scooters that are the most popular are Xiaomi, Segway, Hudora, Nilox, Nito and Vivobike. The ** percent of the Italian market, according to Confartigianato reports, is held by Xiaomi, a Chinese consumer electronics company founded in China in ****.

Italian brands (***) at the moment take care, mainly, of design and distribution of scooters, since there are a few production facilities in our country.

Segway is an American manufacturer of two-wheeled personal transporters, mainly through its Segway PT and Segway miniPro product lines. Since ****, it has been owned by the Chinese company Ninebot.

Hudora is a German brand established in **** when Hugo Dornseif founded an ice skate factory and grew from there to become a giant specializing in selling products for children and teenagers to get around outdoors.

Revoe designed and developed in France and built strong partnerships with Chinese manufacturers. Its Chinese office in Shanghai tracks and guides all of the brand's products.

Nilox was created in Italy in **** by the Esprinet Group, among the top five technology distributors in Europe ...

3.3 Geographic Distribution of scooter sharing services

Below we analyze the geographic distribution of micromobility sharing services. It emerges that sharing services are more present in Northern Italy, where there are as many as ** cities with at least one sharing service while they are less present in Central Italy where there are only ** cities with at least one sharing service. this suggests in Central and Southern Italy there is less competition and therefore investing in cities in Central and Southern Italy may be a good investment

Geographical distribution of micromobility sharing services Italy, ****, in units Source: ****

Let us now analyze the number of scooter sharing available in the cities of Milan and Rome, which are the cities with the largest presence of scooters.

According to the municipality, the total number of electric devices allowed to circulate is *,*** vehicles, with a maximum limit of *** vehicles per fleet. Currently, there are * active operators in Milan for a total of *,*** scooters. With the entry of the eighth operator (***)

In Rome, on the other hand , * operators operate , for a total of **,*** vehicles available on the territory and ** vehicles per square kilometer. This is a disproportionate number, especially when compared to other vehicles. In Rome, for every square kilometer, there are ** sharing cars, ...

4.1 Types

Below we provide an analysis of the types of electric scooters according to the different characteristics they possess.

The basic characteristics of an electric scooter:

Battery: capacity and range, charging time Maximum cruising speed Weight of the frame (***) Maximum supportable weight Price (***)

Battery

The average battery range is around ** km, which corresponds to about ** minutes of uninterrupted running time.

Battery maintenance is also very important, and for a proper use, charging and discharging, it is always best to follow the advice in the instruction booklet. The size of a standard battery is ** volts ** amperes per hour. Some larger scooter models also feature a set of three batteries instead of a single one. This feature ensures a longer range than standard models.

Battery range (***) also depends greatly on other factors, namely:

Type of road usually traveled Weight of the person riding the scooter Driving style

If all of these factors include: the habit of driving very fast and frequently preempting rough roads, uneven terrain, and climbs, and if the person riding has a not inconsiderable weight, by logic the battery will be affected.

Speed

This depends greatly on the battery capacity and the model of scooter being considered. In general, the maximum ...

4.2 Price analysis

Prices of scooter sharing services vary depending on the city in which you reside; below we provide an analysis of the prices of the main operators in the city of Rome.

Lime

€ *.** for unlocking, then for each additional minute you pay ** cents. There are also subscriptions: the Lime Week Pass (***).

Dott

€ *.** for unlocking, then for each additional minute you pay ** cents.

Available is the €*.** package (***) and the €*.** package, which is the ePass valid for * days with * free rides including related vehicle unlocks, for up to ** minutes each.

Helbiz

€ *.** for unlocking, then for each additional minute you pay ** cents.

Offers a subscription that, at a cost of €**.** per month allows unlimited daily rides for a maximum of ** minutes each with an interval of at least ** minutes between each rental.

Bird

€ *.** for unlocking, then for each additional minute you pay ** cents.

In the virtual wallet, you can save money by activating prepaid formulas: €** rental with * free rides, €*** with ** free, €*** with ** free, €*** with *** free.

Bit

€ *.** for unlocking, then for each additional minute you pay ** cents.

With Bit, however, different promotional formulas are possible depending on usage: Easy Bit (***).

Wind Mobility

€*.** for unlocking, then for each additional minute you pay ** cents.

Source: ****

4.3 Analysis of best-selling scooter models and their prices

Below you will find the ranking of the best-selling electric scooter models on Amazon as of February *, ****.

5.1 Regulation

For the many owners of electric scooters, the date of September **, **** is very important because from that day on, the regulations of the MIMS Decree August **, ****, which defines the technical specifications of scooters allowed to circulate in Italy, begin to apply, introducing new features on turn indicators and the braking system.

Electric scooters, although legally equated with velocipedes, have distinctly different technical characteristics. For this reason, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility has decided to adopt, for safety purposes, a special regulation regarding these vehicles, which sets out in detail the construction characteristics they must have (***) meets the standards.

Article * of the decree lists the characteristics:

the continuous rated power of the electric motor must not exceed *.** kW; they must be equipped with tires; the tires must be equipped with tread; the thickness of the tread must be such as to ensure sufficient grip under all conditions of use; they must be equipped with a speed governor that can be configured according to the speed limit - * km/h provided for pedestrian areas and ** km/h provided in other cases; the maximum dimensions are: *,*** mm in length; *** mm in width at its widest point, including the handlebar and excluding any ...

5.2 Mobility Bonus

In the Relaunch Decree announced by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte on May **, ****, and published in the Official Gazette on May **, ****, a bonus of up to *** euros for the purchase of electric scooters and other means of micromobility as a measure to contain contagion during travel in the Phase *.

This is a subsidy of up to *** euros for the purchase of bicycles, including pedal-assisted bicycles, and electric micromobility vehicles such as scooters, hoverboards and segways, or for the use of sharing mobility services. The bonus can cover up to ** percent of the expenditure incurred to purchase the vehicle or service.

The mobility voucher is available to adults who are residents of regional capitals, metropolitan cities, provincial capitals or municipalities with a population over **,***.

The Meloni government has not provided within the draft Budget Law **** any extension regarding the sustainable mobility bonus. However, the bonus can be claimed and added in the **** tax return. The business license granted is mainly aimed at all individuals who have incurred expenses for the purchase of the following sustainable mobility vehicles or services from August *, **** to December **, ****:

electric scooters; electric (***) or muscle bicycles; public transportation subscriptions; electric mobility sharing (***) or sustainable mobility services.

The tax rebate can ...

6.1 Segmentation

• Lime Italia
• VOI
• Bird Rides Italia
• Helbiz italia
• DUCATI MOTOR HOLDING SPA
• Xiaomi Italia
• Nilox (Gruppo Esprinet)