In our most recent newsletter edition, we crowned the transportation companies that generated most of the media buzz in 2021.
Our analysis got picked up by PhocusWire, however, we also received quite a bit of feedback questioning the relevance of measuring a company’s press coverage as a sign of “success”.
And indeed, media attention is only a vanity metric when it comes to evaluating a company’s performance.
Nevertheless, we find it interesting.
Because the public narrative of a company can oftentimes act as a self-fulfilling prophecy, as in the sense that strong brand awareness and visibility put a company top of people’s minds, and might even impact investor interest—two very important elements in shaping a path to success.
With this being said, we looked at a few additional categories across Travel and Mobility Tech.
Here is the ranking of the most-discussed micromobility brands in 2021.
As you would expect, most of the well-known e-scooter and bike companies show up.
Unsurprisingly, Lime leads the pack
Lime, often coined the world’s micromobility category leader since its acquisition of Jump in 2020, sits at the top of the table, driven by headlines related to:
- Lime’s rapid fleet renewal for both scooters and bikes last year
- Lime’s expansion into other mobility modes such as electric mopeds
- Lime’s mega funding of $523 million in November, that arguably prepared the company for an upcoming IPO in 2022
Quick side note: Lime’s hyper-aggressive market entry in many countries around the world was something we also closely monitored in 2019 when the mircromobility giant launched its scooter service in Germany. Might be worth a re-visit.
What’s up with Ford?
What’s more interesting than Lime’s pole position is automobile incumbent Ford ranking on #4.
Where does that come from? Well, Ford is no stranger to the micromobility arena.
Through its acquisition of e-scooter startup Spin in 2018 (which itself is ranking #2), the iconic carmaker placed a significant bet (about $100 million) on the “last mile” transportation market.
However, not all press is good press.
Most of Ford’s (and Spin’s) media coverage in the second half of 2021 dealt with rumors saying that Ford would pull Spin out of major cities in order to cut costs. This move was eventually confirmed in a press release by Spin CEO Ben Bear on January 7th, 2022, meaning we might need to update our Travel & Mobility Graveyard soon.
