The Scottish Government has just awarded over £633,000 to support 45 e-bike projects across the country. The government has also awarded £210,000 to test new ways of improving accessibility across ChargePlace Scotland’s electric vehicle charging network. 

The New Zealand government has just approved funding for 22 new low-emission transport projects across the country. The projects in the latest round of government co-funding include a bike and car share scheme, EV charging stations as well as hydrogen and battery-electric trucks.

The government of Ireland has launched new schemes for e-mobility. One prepares for the use of e-scooters and e-bikes to become legal. The other concerns incentives for electric vehicles in the SPSV sector, which covers taxis, hackneys, and limousines.

In Canada, British Columbia’s Specialty-Use Vehicle Incentive (SUVI) is set to receive a $31-million cash boost to double the maximum rebates for electric medium and heavy-duty vehicles available for local businesses and governments, public sector organisations and non-profit organisations.

BMW and Daimler’s Free Now mobility platform aims to achieve carbon neutrality in all key European markets by 2030 and is committing more than 100 million euros in resources over the next five years to the shift toward e-mobility.

After Harley-Davidson recently announced its intention to enter the e-bike market with a newly formed brand, details follow on the Serial 1 Cycle Company’s first model range: The debut of Serial 1 includes four city pedelecs aimed at city commuters and occasional cyclists.

In April this year, the Netherlands banned smoking and the sale of tobacco products at train stations. Now, the old ashtray posts are to be replaced by e-bike charging stations designed by Lightwell.

Automotive supplier and manufacturer of e-bike drives Brose, and the connectivity specialist Comodule have presented a modular plug-and-play solution for e-bike sharing. Brose Connected Drive combines their drive with a connectivity module developed for fleet operators like Lime/Uber.

The VW group and the Greek government have agreed to establish a “pioneering mobility system” on the Mediterranean island of Astypalea. To this end, the island’s current transport system is to be converted to electric vehicles and regenerative energies.

Harley-Davidson has announced that it is entering the electric bicycle market with a new brand. The first product line of the new company Serial 1 Cycle Company will be launched in spring 2021, also in Europe.

Three months after the start of its pilot project in Berlin, the e-bike subscription service Dance has successfully completed a financing round of 15 million euros. The company of SoundCloud founders Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss and Alexander Ljung is now planning to launch the service in other European cities. An expansion into the USA could also follow.

BMW and Daimler are now selling parts of their mobility-as-a-service businesses. Mobimeo, the German national rail service Deutsche Bahn subsidiary, is taking over parts of the B2B and B2G side of things, while Uber is apparently very interested in taking over the ride-hailing and micromobility-sharing service FreeNow.

Schaeffler has sold all shares in its subsidiary Schaeffler Bio-Hybrid GmbH to Micromobility Services and Solutions GmbH, based in Berlin. Series production of the four-wheeled pedelec Bio-Hybrid is scheduled to start in mid-2021 under the new owner.

The European Commission has initiated a review of the type approval directive for motorised vehicles. A revision could bring the end of stifling regulation for e-bikes such as speed pedelecs and even cargo bikes.

The Dutch e-bike manufacturer VanMoof has raised another 34 million euros from investors. The Series B funding comes only a few months after a 12.5 million euro investment in May and is meant to support VanMoof’s global expansion.

Toronto sees the installation of a new e-bike sharing as Bike Share Toronto launched a pedal-assist bike pilot program this week. The pedelecs are available on the app already, while the charging stations will be installed over the next few weeks.

For model year 2021, Yamaha and Mahle have both introduced new e-bike drives. Both companies are following the trend towards smaller and lighter drives that are easier to integrate into the frame.

In Croatia, the online application procedure for the new call for funding for electric and hybrid vehicles had to be cancelled after only two minutes because so many applications were received from private individuals that the 2020 budget for the funding programme of €2.9M was exhausted.

The startup Zeltini from Latvia has developed a motorhome amphibian for two people based on a three-wheeled e-bike called Z-Triton. The model can be ridden like a bicycle or launched like a boat. Apparently it sleeps two and a (small) dog.

Jump’s bright red e-bikes return. The new owner Lime was last caught scrapping many of the electric bikes after taking over the service from Uber. London is now the first city in Europe where e-bikes are making a comeback, and more cities are to follow. + + Kindly see our update below + +

The Dutch bicycle subscription provider Swapfiets has announced that it will also offer its service in London, Milan and Paris before the end of the year and will include other electric vehicles in its product range in addition to bicycles.

Another £900,000 were committed by Transport Scotland towards the eBike Grant Fund for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Round four of the grant programme is now available to assist the adoption of eBikes, eTrikes and electric cargo bikes in Scotland.

A commercial made by the e-bike manufacturer VanMoof has been prohibited from broadcast on French television because of the ads depiction of a melting car. The self-regulating body responsible, the ARPP, argue that aspects of the film “discredit the automobile sector […] while creating a climate of anxiety.”

The Austrian government is increasing purchase premiums and subsidies for charging infrastructure for zero-emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles from 1 July. This includes zero-emission and plug-in hybrid cars, zero-emission heavy and light commercial vehicles, zero-emission buses, and electric two-wheelers – including e-motorbikes, mopeds, e-bikes and e-cargo bikes. 

Bosch eBike Systems has just presented its innovations for the next model year, including a new onboard computer, software updates for various drive systems, a function extension for the Bosch Performance Line CX and a new eBike design study.

Yamaha has reorganised the sales and service of its e-bike systems. Starting next month, Yamaha will service European customers of its e-bike systems directly from Europe.

GenZe, the US subsidiary of the Indian car manufacturer Mahindra specialises on electric scooters and electric bicycles. GenZe is on the verge of collapse and Mahindra plans to dissolve the subsidiary within the next six months, reabsorbing the intellectual property rights for various other projects.

Taiwan’s e-scooter manufacturer Gogoro is expanding its range to include electric bicycles. Under the new brand name Eeyo, the company has now introduced the first models Eeyo 1 and Eeyo 1S, built to score points above all with their low weight.

Lime recently took over Uber’s electric bike and scooter business under the Jump brand. It was now revealed that thousands of the red Jump pedelecs are being scrapped.

The Italian motorcycle Ducati is entering the micro-mobility space as the VW brand launches folding e-bikes and kick-scooters with electric drive under the Ducati Urban e-Mobility line. They are working with Italy’s MT Distribution for the new model range.