As Ofo shuts down outside China, Mobike eyes ‘stable’ 2019

The battle to be the world’s top bike-share app is now over.

Ofo, known for its yellow bikes, is shuttering its international division in order to focus on its native China market, according to local media reports. It comes weeks after Ofo’s founder, Dai Wei, admitted to “immense pressure and torment” amid cashflow problems that leaves the startup – once valued at US$3 billion – on the verge of bankruptcy.

Mobike, its arch-rival, is seeing contrasting fortune.

It has 9 million orange-and-silver bicycles in over 200 cities in 19 countries, Mobike’s Steve Milton tells Tech in Asia. The app has 200 million registered users.

Photo credit: James West / Flickr

After launching in Germany and adding more cities in Spain in the second half of last year, Mobike is focusing on “improving operational efficiency” in 2019, Milton says.

“We’ve been through areas of significant growth, and now it’s about building a sustainable business,” adds Mobike’s head of EU growth and global PR boss.

Will Mobike be expanding into new cities this year?

“Potentially. Yes and no. If cities, you know, provide us the right environment to operate, and there’s customer demand, we have the right vehicles or bikes to do that, then yes. But I think growth must be sustainable,” Milton says.

Mobike was acquired by Chinese tech giant Meituan-Dianping in April 2018, so it’s in the hands of a sugar daddy worth US$31 billion. This helps Mobike settle into what Milton calls “a period of stability.”

With all the two-wheeler hype now directed at electric scooters – like the Lime and Bird ones that have caused a ruckus in San Francisco – Mobike is being cautious about trading in for a smaller set of wheels.

“We keep a very close eye on developments in the marketplace,” Milton said.