Image credit: felyx (Facebook)
Amsterdam-based felyx, a shared e-moped solutions company, announced on Thursday, November 2, that its German business has been acquired by Berlin-based emmy, another e-moped sharing company and a subsidiary of GoTo Global.
Data from Germany’s Center for Automotive Research (CAR) reveals that despite pressure from across the world to embrace traffic-free communities, car ownership in Germany is still rising.
Enabling easy use of mopeds within city centres is one solution to reversing this trend.
Mopeds offer special advantages as a mode of city transportation, including the ability to travel through traffic and park more easily, while also being more efficient than traditional micro-mobility options such as bikes and e-scooters.
Providing sustainable alternative transportation
Founded in 2017 by Quinten Selhorst and Maarten Poot, felyx claims to be reshaping urban mobility by offering sustainable and efficient transportation to all – a shared e-moped solution.
felyx aims to link people through convenient, environmentally friendly, and shared riders, giving everyone the freedom to move around in a more green urban environment and make the city more livable.
With a fleet of more than 6,000 electric mopeds, the company operates in more than 13 cities and provides service to more than 1 million registered users.
Currently, felyx is dominating the Benelux market in terms of fleet size. And the decision to sell its German operations comes after the company decided to focus on expanding throughout Benelux.
Co-founder Maarten Poot says, “Once we made the decision to exit Germany, it was critical to find a successor who shared our vision for the future of sustainable, urban travel. We have found that in emmy and we know our users will be in the best hands going forward.”
“This strategic move enables us both to put more focus on our home markets and further cement our leading positions. felyx users will be able to use our service up until the 28th of February, and will receive instructions on how to migrate their account to emmy,” adds Poot.
Aim of this acquisition
With this deal, emmy’s footprint will increase, giving it access to the largest fleet of mopeds available in the nation. emmy will now add a fleet of 1,500 mopeds to its current operation, which will also help it maintain its market-leading position in that region.
emmy, and its parent company GoTo Global, will keep empowering consumers to own their travels rather than their vehicles. “With this deal, we expect that at any time of day, at any day of the week, users will easily find an emmy moped in close proximity,” say Gil Laser, CEO of GoTo Global.
“The acquisition will see emmy bolster its fleet in Berlin and consolidate its footprint in Hamburg and Munich. As for felyx users, they simply need to download the emmy app and can rest assured of a seamless migration. These users will be able to avail themselves of any felyx credits while using emmy. The upside of this acquisition for the user is that the two fleets of the biggest moped players in Germany are now available in one app,” adds Laser.
About emmy and GoTo Global
Founded in 2015 by Alexander Meiritz and currently led by CEO Christopher Schech, emmy provides short-term rentals of e-scooters that can be booked via an app. Customers can choose from about 4,000 mopeds in Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich.
emmy mopeds include two helmets in different sizes and disposable hygiene hoods. Additionally, the mopeds have changeable batteries, and emmy handles the charging process itself. Therefore, customers are unaffected by lengthy charging durations and inadequate charging infrastructure.
In October 2021, Israel-based multimodal mobility services provider GoTo Global acquired emmy to expand its services in Europe. GoTo Global aims to offer users access to shared mobility solutions through a single app that enables the booking of cars and mopeds. The company currently operates in Israel, Spain and Germany.