Product Launches, Company Acquisitions, and Business Expansion by Market Players such as Didi Chuxing, Nextbike, and Others to Foster the Growth of the Global Bike Sharing Market

Bike sharing is a cost-effective and shared transport service in which electric bikes or convectional bikes are utilized for shared use to individuals on a short-term basis for a fee or price. Users can pick up bicycles around the city from various dock-less or docked stations and return it at another same system. The docks are special racks for bike that locks the bike and releases it only via computer control, whereas the dock-less bike share can be parked along the sidewalk or within a defined bike rack, and does not require a docking station. Bike sharing provides both locals as well as tourists a low-cost, easy, and efficient means of transportation around cities.

COVID-19 Impact on Bike Sharing Market

The outbreak of COVID-19 across the globe has unfavorably impacted the global bike sharing market growth. The negative impact on the market is majorly owing to the lockdown imposed across the globe which disrupted manufacturing processes and supply chain. In addition, there is a disturbance in international supply chains for essential components transportation utilized in electric bikes sharing like lithium-ion batteries. Besides, the major companies in the bike sharing sector such as Lyft Inc., Uber Technologies Inc., and others have experienced a decrease in demand in the bike sharing market. All these factors have negatively impacted the market growth during the pandemic period.

Bike Sharing Market Trends and Developments

The companies operating in the global industry are adopting several growth strategies and business tactics such as partnerships, collaboration, business expansion, and product launches to obtain a leading position in the global industry, which is predicted to drive the global bike sharing market growth in the upcoming years.

For instance, in February 2021, Qingju, the ride-hailing and bike sharing company of Didi Chuxing raised around USD 600 million in a Series B equity funding and also will be granted another USD 400 million in loans. Qingju is one of the main bike-sharing services available in China, along with Meituan Bike, and Ant Group-backed Hello Bike.

In June 2021, Bird, a leader in shared ecofriendly electric transportation, announced the launch of Bird Bike and added shared e-bikes to its fleet of micro-electric vehicles. The company currently operates e-scooters in over 250 cities across the globe and will bring its Smart Bikeshare platform and shared bikes to numerous cities this year.

In November 2021, TIER Mobility, the Berlin-based e-scooter operator, completed the acquisition of Nextbike, bike-sharing firm to become the largest provider of shared lightweight vehicles in Europe. The deal is expected to bring rentable bicycles, e-scooters, e-bicycles, cargo bikes, and e-mopeds into one network, which could mark the first huge acquisition in a likely consolidation period in the highly fragmented industry.

Forecast Analysis of Global Market

The global bike sharing market is projected to witness an exponential growth over the forecast period, owing to the financial incentives and support programs by governments across the globe to promote electric vehicles. Conversely, the lack of public charging infrastructure of for e-bikes is expected to hamper the market growth in the projected timeframe.

The growing emphasis on the utilization of fuel-efficient and environment friendly vehicles across the globe is the significant factor estimated to bolster the growth of the global market in the coming future. According to a latest report published by Research Dive, the global bike sharing market is expected to garner $2,969.0 million during the forecast period (2021-2028). Regionally, the Asia-Pacific market is estimated to observe dominant growth by 2028, owing to the rapid urbanization and rising demand for environment friendly mobility solutions in the developing countries such as China and India.

The key players functioning in the global market include

• Uber Technologies Inc  
• Lyft Inc.  
• DiDi Bike
• Hellobike 
• Bond Mobility Technologies     
• Mobike   
• Nextbike GmbH 
• SG Bike Pte Ltd 
• Spin       
• Lime