One September morning, in front of the train station in Le Havre (western France), there was a constant flow on the bicycle paths both sides of the Cours de la République. There were bicycles, yes, but there were also lots of electric scooters – one for every two bicycles, according to some empirical counting. At the end of the day on the following Friday, at Valognes station, in Normandy, several passengers got off the train arriving from Paris and Caen with scooters folded under their arm. A few weeks later, in Mâcon, Burgundy, young men spent the evening riding around the city center streets on their black scooters.
Four years after the first electric scooters appeared in France, they are clearly here to stay. The multicolored objects arrived on the sidewalks of Paris thanks to self-employed entrepreneurs acting on behalf of flourishing start-ups that presented them as the latest self-service vehicle.
The battery-powered scooter has become a means of personal travel. In 2021, 900,000 were sold in France, according to data compiled by the Fédération des Professionnels de la Micromobilité (FPMM), which brings together 52 companies related to the sector. Sales were up 42% compared to 2020, "and the trend should continue, provided that manufacturers do not run out of spare parts," said Jocelyn Loumeto, general delegate of the FPMM.
Assembling a scooter requires relatively simple mechanical elements, as well as a motor and a battery produced by subcontractors. Yet manufacturers have "suffered from difficulties in accessing raw materials, the impacts of China's zero-Covid policy and the rising cost of container transport," according to Rudy Godoy, sales director for France at Ninebot, a Chinese manufacturer that is targeting 10% of the French market by 2022. Meanwhile, the scooter is conquering the street.
'First European market'
The FPMM estimates that there are 2.5 million regular scooter users in France. "Self-service is the tip of the iceberg," said Mr. Loumeto. According to him, the annual turnover of self-service operators like Lime, Bird, Dott and Voi does not exceed €40 million, compared to €310 million for sales direct to users. The scooter owners already have established habits. They buy their scooters colorfulmainly from supermarkets and large specialist distributors. According to the FPMM, supermarkets account for 50% of sales, compared to 30% at retailers and 20% online.
Entry-level products are purchased online, "for less than €300," said Mr. Godoy. Only one manufacturer is crushing the competition, with about 60% of sales: Xiaomi, a Chinese giant specializing in phones, which has diversified into consumer electronics. Its devices are appreciated for their "unbeatable price-quality ratio," according to Mr. Loumeto. Other brands want to follow the trend, such as the British company Pure Electric, which markets a compact model, and even the Taiwanese computer manufacturer Acer.
One manufacturer is crushing the competition, with about 60% of sales: Xiaomi
France is now "the leading European market, ahead of Germany, Spain and Italy," said Mr. Godoy. This craze has its source in differences in regulations. "Germany had authorized scooters from June 2019, but on the condition that they were registered and limiting their use to self-service," Mr. Loumeto explained. France followed suit a few months later, but in reality, by then, the machines had already been in circulation for two years. In the Netherlands, they are still banned. The flexibility of different governments also reflects mobility habits.
Germany and the Netherlands, where the bicycle has long been an urban alternative to the car, have not sought to encourage new means of travel. In France, the future of the scooter depends precisely on its ability to become established in the city. However, the elected officials in charge of mobility, chastened by the episode of colourful vehicles left on sidewalks, remain reticent.
A poorly organized sector
In addition, the sector remains poorly organized. Self-service operators do little to disguise their rivalry with distributors. Apart from sales figures, there are no studies to assess the total economic size of the sector, which should include insurance, repairs and vendor training. No one has a clear idea of the number of direct jobs it creates. Up until 2021, there was a national organization called the Association Nationale des Utilisateurs de Micromobilité Electrique, but it is no longer active.
The scooter industry pales in comparison to the "Alliance pour le Vélo," which brings together hundreds of cyclists' organizations, elected officials, as well as manufacturers, and has access to the highest levels of government. The pro-bike movement, which prides itself on developing "active mobility" and promoting physical exercise, is trying to relocate the industry to France. There is nothing of the sort for the scooter, and the vast majority of its production, in the absence of anti-dumping regulations, is imported from China. The odd French company is trying to break through, such as the Lille-based brand Plume, with a vehicle costing more than €1,000 that boasts "82% of components designed and manufactured in France."
However, "we can't just dismiss a versatile means of transport that helps people get out of the car and sells almost a million units a year," said Patrice Duny, director of the Caen Normandie Métropole urban planning agency. This observer of urban life considers the scooter to be effective "for journeys shorter than those made by bicycle, and for complex journeys that involve a break in continuity, such as taking a train or climbing stairs."
In the meantime, users are facing new challenges. "The volume and weight of scooters sold is increasing significantly," said Mr. Loumeto. "And some places, such as shopping malls and businesses, no longer accept them." Users are forced to leave them outside, attached to posts with handcuff-like locks. The electric scooter, which until now has escaped the constraints of parking, must now find a place within public space.