What are the key factors contributing to the rapid growth of the Micromobility Market in South Korea?
Air pollution is one of the biggest problems which has encircled the whole world. Vehicles have a lot of contributions to add to the air quality, and South Korea is not an exception to this. With the increasing level of air pollution and to save on transportation costs, the country has started looking forward to micro-mobility. And, because of this, the demand for electric scooters will rise at a mammoth rate of around 52%, and reach a value of around $11,179 million by the end of this decade.
Swing, an electric scooter and micro-mobility start-up of South Korea, announced that it has raised a sum of $24 million to spur its evolution and expansion to Japan. White Star Capital led the funding, which also participated in Berlin-based Tier Mobility, and included existing backer Hashed, amongst others. With the capital, Swing raised a total of about $33 million since its beginning in 2019.
Apart from its app, the shared micro-mobility startup newly introduced a novel app called Dayrider that permits delivery riders to rent e-scooters or e-mopeds for just a couple of days without the annoyance of charging.
South Korea’s new rules on e-scooter have upset e-scooter companies. Under the amended act, effective from May 2021, e-scooter riders must be 16 years or over, have a valid license, and wear a helmet. If the new regulations are not followed by the people, a fine will be imposed. The e-scooter users must use bike paths and park the electric scooters away from cars and people. In July, Seoul announced that the illegally parked e-scooters will be towed and a penalty will be charged.
In excess of 20 e-scooter rental businesses are presently operational in South Korea, where there is no boundary on the count of companies or fleets that can operate the business in this sector. Industry sources told that consolidation was initiated in the e-scooter business last year. A Berlin-based electric-scooter platform Wind Mobility, which arrived in the country’s market two years ago, wrapped its operations in the capital city last October.
The demand for e-two-wheelers in South Korea increased with the need to decrease the pollution level and the cost of traveling.
