There are quite a few services offering e-scooter sharing in several markets across the United States. Some ride-hailing services have even added electric scooters to their fleet as well. This is a mode of transportation that’s clearly getting popular in the country so it comes as no surprise that Ford has now bought an e-scooter sharing startup. The company has announced its acquisition of Spin.
It was rumored that Ford was interested in acquiring Spin and those rumors have turned out to be accurate. Ford has confirmed its acquisition of Spin but hasn’t disclosed the financial details of the deal.
Spin operates its dockless electric scooter sharing service in 13 cities and campuses in the United States. It charges customers $1 to rent a scooter and 15 cents per minute thereafter for as long as they have the scooter in their possession.
With Ford now owning the company, Spin has launched its service in Detroit as it continues to expand its scooter sharing service to 100 cities over the next 18 months. Spin has confirmed that it will continue to operate as a standalone business under the Ford umbrella, particularly its Smart Mobility division which is pursuing a mobility strategy that goes beyond cars.
Being owned by Ford gives Spin access to a much larger pool of resources which is why it will now be expanding its team of designers, engineers, operators, lawyers, and policy makers.