JiBike, led by CEO Jong-soo Yoon, which operates the electric scooter sharing service platform 'Gcooter', announced on the 18th that it has signed a contract to acquire the 'ZET' service, a shared PM (Personal Mobility) business with Hyundai Motor Company and Kia.

Personal Mobility (PM) refers to 'personal mobility devices' under the Road Traffic Act and denotes a one-person transport powered by electricity. It also has the significant advantage of being eco-friendly since it operates on low-output electric motors without incurring fuel costs, making it a mode of transport that is gaining attention from the next generation.

The 'ZET' platform that Gcooter is set to acquire was developed by Hyundai Motor Company and Kia in August 2019 to provide optimized solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises entering the mobility service business, and to contribute to the development of domestic mobility services and the creation of a coexistence ecosystem. It is an open last-mile mobility platform construction project.

Gcooter has successfully signed the acquisition agreement with Hyundai Motor Company and Kia and plans to officially take over and operate the 'ZET' platform from August. Currently, Gcooter has about 2 million members and, as of April 2022, has surpassed 40 million rides, maintaining its position as the largest shared PM business in the domestic market with the number one market share. In particular, the rate of use of Gcooter among the MZ generation is twice that of its closest competitor.

<Graph of shared mobility app usage by people in their 20s (Source: Mobile Index, based on June) >

According to officials, Gcooter capacity as a domestic PM operator has played a positive role in acquiring the 'ZET' platform. The acquisition of the 'ZET' platform by Gcooter is projected to become a catalyst for continuous and diverse collaborations between Gcooter and Hyundai Motor Company and Kia. Additionally, the symbiotic ecosystem structure between large corporations and startups in the rapidly globalizing mobility industry is expected to positively affect the industry's future development.

CEO Jong-soo Yoon of JiBike said, "It is true that the recent temporary withdrawal of Lime's service in Korea has generally dampened the industry atmosphere," and "In a market environment with many regulations and rapid changes, stable growth of the PM industry requires substantial external support and cooperative efforts. Please look forward to the potential of Gcooter, which will discover sustainable fields in various fields with Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, and grow together," he added.