Lime Announces the Gen4 Scooter as It Achieves First Profitable Quarter
We’re celebrating some big news today at Lime. For the first time in our company’s history, we’ve crossed the important threshold of profitability — becoming the first new mobility company to reach cash-flow positive for a full quarter. We also reached EBIT positive at the company level over the summer, and are on track to be profitable as a company for all of 2021.
This is a major step forward, not just for Lime but for the cities and riders we serve around the world because it proves that operating shared, electric, car-alternative mobility options can be a sustainable service over the long-term. It’s validation that e-bikes, scooters and other light electric vehicles aren’t just a passing fad, but further a fundamental shift away from personal car use.
Reaching this milestone also means Lime can continue to invest in cleaner, safer people-first cities and a healthier planet for years to come. We’re using this milestone to double down on the next generation of vehicles to help people make any trip under five miles. This week we launched our Gen4 scooter in Paris, just as our e-bike fleet expands in cities around the world, and we’re on track to launch an all-new third mode in the first quarter of 2021. There’s a lot to be excited about at Lime.
Just as it has for many companies, the pandemic took a toll on Lime. We prioritized the safety of our global staff and the cities we serve, leading us to pause service for more than a month in nearly every market around the world. We took that time to drill down on getting the business right, narrowing our focus and strengthening our fundamentals so that we could reemerge a stronger and more resilient business.
In the months that followed, Lime played a supportive role to cities and residents, particularly healthcare workers and first responders, who were unable to stay home at the height of the pandemic. We offered free rides to essential workers, extending the helping hand of open-air, socially distant transportation as they served on the front-lines against COVID-19.
As we began to redeploy, we saw how e-bikes and scooters quickly became an essential part of cities’ recovery plans as riders came to rely on them for commutes, local errands and even just to get outside and reconnect with their hometowns. Thanks to our tremendous operations teams in more than 120 cities around the world, we rapidly scaled our fleet of e-bikes and scooters where we saw demand. That demand soon spread across the globe as we not only relaunched in markets where we paused, but launched new markets in major cities like Rome, Milan and Greater Manchester.
Cities increasingly turned to Lime as a partner thanks to our high operational standards and our understanding of the needs of the communities we serve, winning a series of limited permits in cities like Paris, Seattle and Chicago.
This growth and operational streamlining contributed to turning the business around, just at a time when micromobility is proving more essential than ever before.
Our current financial strength allows us to reinvest in our latest generation of e-scooters, the Gen4. Our goal with this new model is to provide the smoothest, safest and most sustainable Lime scooter ride in our history, and to have it immediately become the industry’s leading scooter model thanks to its intelligent and innovative design. We expect it to far surpass the more-than two-year lifespan of the Gen3 and rival any available shared scooter in durability, safety and sustainability.
Immediately noticeable is the swept back handlebars, a first for shared e-scooters and reminiscent of bike handles, allowing for more a comfortable grip. The Gen4 scooter includes a dual hand brake system to make slowing and stopping easier and more immediate when needed.
We’ve lowered the baseboard to optimize the center of gravity on the scooter and make getting on and off easier. The new kickstand now has two legs to help avoid scooters from being tipped over when parked, which can help to reduce clutter on sidewalks.
Enhanced suspension and larger wheels mean a smoother ride over cracks, warped pavement and anything else the cityscape can throw at you.
Most important of all though is the addition of a swappable battery, which will drive even greater efficiency in our operations and further reduce the carbon emissions of scooter riding. Soon, the swappable batteries will be interchangeable with our e-bike fleet, further streamlining our operations.
We are thankful to the team at JUMP, some of whom remain with Lime, for their work in the initial development of this new model. Lime’s R&D team added to the design to bring it to market and will iterate further on the Gen4 over time. New features make it even more seamless to hop on a scooter and go, while making it more sustainable, longer lasting, and easier to repair and reuse parts.
The Lime Gen4 scooter launches in Paris this week and will rollout across Europe in early 2021.
But we’re not stopping there. In the first few months of 2021, we’re looking forward to launching and operating a third and fourth mode in major cities around the world as we continue to expand our offerings on the Lime app. This is in addition to announcing new partners on the Lime Platform as well.
Soon, it really will be easier than ever to ditch the car for that trip under five miles and instead travel safer, freer and more sustainably. We hope you’ll continue to enjoy the ride.
This article was originally published by Lime.
