Korean startup SWING Mobility dominating in the e-scooter sharing market

Electric scooters or e-scooters, or kickboards, an eco-friendly and compact mode of transport, are attracting attention as the next-generation vehicles. Major world cities are encouraging usage of these environmentally friendly transport modes to decongest traffic and reduce pollution. In South Korea, too, major cities like Seoul, Busan, Daegu, etc., are seeing a rise in usage of e-scooters. There are more than 15 e-scooter sharing companies now in Korea. Over 60,000 shared e-scooters from various operators are deployed in the Seoul capital area alone, a hike from as little as 150 e-scooters back in 2018.

SWING Mobility is a leading last-mile mobility service provider in Korea that is working with a vision to support government efforts to reduce traffic congestion and environmental pollution. SWING has deployed more than 28,000 electric scooters in the country, and the service is provided in more than 70 cities.

New services & expansion to Japan

SWING’s electric scooters can be rented easily and can be taken from the roadside anytime, anywhere. The vehicle user doesn’t need to worry about maintenance, repairment, or charging – SWING’s team manages all the work. The user experience is as simple as downloading SWING’s app and scanning QR code to unlock the e-scooter. Based on operating know-how, SWING has now launched a new service – DAYRIDER – an e-scooter and e-motor bikes sharing service for delivery riders. By offering DAYRIDER service, SWING is expanding its service horizon from micro-mobility to micro-logistics sector. SWING has completed pilot testing with ~1,000 e-scooters in Seoul, and is set for another pilot using e-motor bikes, before scaling up to full scale.

SWING has received investment from Primer sazze, Spring camp, CNTtech, Venture square, Humax-Korea, Hashed and M-capital. SWING has achieved overwhelming capital efficiency by introducing franchise and consignment operating models based on high profitability.

The electric scooter sharing service, introduced in Korea in 2018, is expected to grow 8-10 times every year and expand to 1 million units nationwide in 2022, reaching a market size of about 1.5 trillion. The government is also proposing a bill to foster micro-mobility sector and create a regulatory framework across the industry. These factors could work in favor of e-scooter companies including SWING, which is already leading the market size in Korea. With the explosive growth in Korea, SWING’s next move is to service the Japanese market by introducing e-scooters in the country.

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