Investors were massively emptying money into China’s dockless bike-sharing startups in the last two years. Now we can mostly see the bikes being abandoned on the streets of the cities.

Hellobike plans to lead China’s two-wheeler transport market as bike-sharing rivals struggle

Meanwhile, the two-wheelers with motors have brought a new charm to the cities. And one of the main members of the e-scooter industry is a survivor from the bike-sharing fad. Hellobike presents a range of mobility services to its 230 million registered users. The mobility services include shared e-bikes and rented electric scooters. Hellobike has received fundings from the world’s most worthy FinTech company Ant Financial through its Series D to F funding rounds. 

How Hellobike started its business in China?

 
Hellobike was first launched in 2016 by placing shared bikes in smaller cities and towns. They targeted the places where Ofo and Mobike were mostly absent. They avoided targeting populous metropolitan centers like Beijing and Shanghai. Due to this strategy, Hellobike could largely avoid the cash splurging rivalry against Ofo and Mobike.

The electric push of Hellobike has begun due to its operational efficiency. At the same time, Ofo is struggling with a major financial crisis as it copes to repay user deposits. It’s rival, Mobike has quieted down increase since it was sold to Hong Kong-listed local services monster Meituan. According to a piece of recent news in TechCrunch, Hellobike’s chief financial officer Fischer Chen explained that when Ofo and Mobike were at war, they did not get any idea of expanding the business into the electric bikes. He said that the competition in the electric bike business was rational as there was no price war for e-bikes from the start as such.

The two-wheeled electric vehicles are in high demand in the country with a population of nearly 1.4 billion people. The data collected by Hellobike suggested that nearly 300 million rides are completed on analog bikes every day in China. Many of them still do not realize that the pedal-assist electric bikes and pedal-free scooters generate 700 million rides per day. This number is double the number of bike rides. 

The functioning strategy of Hellobiken to learn from:

 
There are more advantages to rent rather than buying an electric bike in China. There is no stress of thinking about the vehicle getting stolen and at the same time, one can find a safe ride with the electric vehicles. But finding a suitable charging spot can be a challenge in China.

Hellobike has a solution to this problem by putting up charging stations. They considered doing it as they went about offering shared e-bikes in the year 2017. Riders exchange their battery out for a new one without having to plug in and wait at these booths. The riders have an option to pay via Alipay, Ant’s mobile wallet with a one-billion user base.

Hellobike has captured 80% of the market share of all the monthly two-wheeler electric bikes activity in China. The company accounts for 60-70% for bike-sharing. It is difficult to confirm the share just by looking at the data compiled by third-party app trackers. These trackers don’t normally break out the user number for unique features.

Hellobike runs like a main two-wheeler business and it intends to capture the small-town customers who are looking for pocket-friendly options for the commute. However, Hellobike app is a one-stop-shop for bicycles, e-bikes, e-scooters as well as carpooling apart from the two-wheelers. But the Hellobike app has a major complication as the rides are accessed directly on Alipay rather than its own app.

On the other hand, Meituan has turned Mobike into one of its all-in-one service apps just like Hellobike.

Hellobike does not face many big competitors when it comes to competition in electric two-wheelers. Even after that, they are facing difficulties in adding new features to their existing app and also at the same time, they are facing troubles in acquiring online users.

But it is worth noting that other internet titans have also set their vision on plugged-in micro-mobility. The competition is getting tougher with both Mobike and ride-sharing leader Didi Chuxing introducing their own e-bike sharing programs. The participants need to cope up with China’s more severe rules for electric bicycles.

Get free e scooter app demo : 

China E scooter market stats : China has a huge scope for Scooter rental in the future

We can certainly be sure about Hellobike having great dreams for electric micro-mobility. As the shared bikes and e-bikes are meant to be ridden by one user at a time, Hellobike is planning to engage these e-scooters for a more extended period of time as many people might want the powered-up vehicles for their daily transportation.

To fulfill the demand of its users Hellobike has founded a new joint venture. They have partnered with Ant, controlled by Alibaba founder Jack Ma. At the same time, they have partnered with China’s top battery manufacturer CATL. Hellobike is targeting millions of migrant workers in Chinese cities. They are launching a rental marketplace for its 25 km/h e-scooters slowly in the Chinese market.
 

The business model of Hellobike which you can follow: Which you can use in Hellobike Clone app or in your e scooter app

 
It is not convenient for people to buy an e-scooter which will cost thousands of yuan if they might be leaving the city after a year. So, Hellobike came up with a third-party partner with a new rental business model. In this business model, people pay about 200 yuan a month to use the scooter. This business model helps to convert people from buying vehicles and pay for the services and rent these vehicles. 

Lessons to lean from Hellobike to build successful e scooter ride sharing business in China:

 
You need to install more battery-swapping stations nationwide that not only recharge the e-bikes but also the e-scooters. You need to partner with the battery manufacturers in order to do that.

You need to function as a platform instead of competing with the traditional scooter manufacturers. Allow the scooter manufacturers to use their designs and just add some smart hardware and technology to get things going.

Do not make a mistake in running behind big cities instead you can focus on the small towns and attract more users to use your service.

Remember, China’s main bike-sharing companies have earned profits during their peak season with these tricks and Coruscate can be your best technology partner to help you out with all your requirements for your e-scooter business.

Don’t know where to start to establish your own e scooter business in China? Or Looking for a professionals to build an e scooter ride sharing app for your business? We have the best research team who keeps the updated information regarding the new things happening in the e-scooter business. And at the same time, we have an expert team of developers to provide all unique solutions for your unique business needs. If you have made up your mind to enter the Chinese market and wish to know the cost of development of an e-scooter rental app and how can we make your app stand out from the competition and provide your users an amazing user experience, feel free to connect with us for a free consultation session.