Berlin, 6th of September 2022. Germany's first provider for stationless (free-floating) sharing of e-cargo bikes, Avocargo, has received additional capital from its existing investors in a follow-on round. In addition to the lead investor EIT InnoEnergy, almost all existing shareholders, including the founders of car sharing provider Miles Alexander Eitner and Florian Haus, have increased their investments further. Furthermore, EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union and one of the most important European players in the field of new mobility, has joined as a new shareholder.
Together, they plan to further expand the service and extend it into the subscription segment for private and commercial users. Avocargo is already live in Berlin and Munich and plans to expand its fleet of electric cargo bikes in those, as well as in other cities. The mobile app-based free-floating approach allows highly flexible use cases, which will make cargo bike sharing popular beyond die-hard bike fans. The partnerships with retailers such as BIO COMPANY or Getränke Hoffmann, who cover part of the rental costs for their customers, as well as the cooperation with housing providers like Berlin-based HoWoGe support this vision. With over 200 vehicles, Avocargo is already the market leader in Germany and intends to further expand this position. An already running crowdlending campaign on the Rockets platform is expected to help with this, too.
"The trust of our partners and investors makes us very proud. Particularly in view of the tense geopolitical and economic situation, the trust placed in us means an immense amount.", says Matti Schurr, CEO and co-founder of Avocargo. "Having gained additional expertise through EIT Urban Mobility strengthens us considerably."
"We are convinced that Avocargo's solution will play an essential role in making logistics in our cities more sustainable and at the same time more efficient. We look forward to quickly expanding together into more cities," states Johannes Kirschner, Business Creation Manager at EIT Urban Mobility.
In the coming months, Avocargo's scalability is to be further optimized. Medium-term the company aims to position itself Europe-wide as the leading provider of the flexible use of e-cargo bikes. In addition to the further development of vehicles and technologies, the focus will be on further optimizing operational processes.
At the same time, cooperation with cities is also to be expanded further. Against the backdrop of energy shortages and the increasingly obvious consequences of climate change, cities are desperately seeking alternatives for urban mobility. "We are receiving more and more inquiries from places in Germany and other European countries. The demand is there," says Avocargo co-founder and COO Marc Shakory Tabrizi.
About Avocargo:
Avocargo (www.avocargo.one) is Germany's first provider of free-floating sharing of e-cargo bikes. Via the Avocargo app, private as well as commercial users can flexibly rent electric cargo bikes in the Berlin and Munich business areas. This allows them to sustainably and conveniently transport various items or even people from A to B. Through partnerships with various retailers such as BIO COMPANY or Getränke Hoffmann, Avocargo facilitates various transport use cases for its users. The fleet of cargo bikes is constantly expanding and currently includes over 200 vehicles. Avocargo was founded in March 2021 by Matti Schurr (CEO), Marc Shakory-Tabrizi (COO), and Loic Pinel (CTO) in Berlin.
About EIT Urban Mobility:
EIT Urban Mobility (www.eiturbanmobility.eu), an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, aims to accelerate solutions and the transition towards a user-centric, integrated, and truly multimodal transport system. As the leading European innovation community for urban mobility, EIT Urban Mobility works to avoid fragmentation by facilitating collaboration between cities, industry, academia, research, and innovation to solve the most pressing mobility challenges of cities. Using cities as living labs, its industry, research, and university partners will demonstrate how new technologies can work to solve real problems in real cities by transporting people, goods, and waste in smarter ways.