The investment was raised from various private investors and ABN AMRO. Earlier this year, 1 million euros in growth capital was already raised. In Rotterdam, the sharing concept will start with 324 e-scooters. In Amsterdam, thousands of users are already sharing the 108 electric scooters that are available.
The 2 million euro investment is the decisive factor for the expansion to Rotterdam, where a letter of intent was signed by the municipality earlier this year to introduce felyx's sharing concept. In early 2018, the first step was already taken towards expansion when 1 million euros in investment was raised for organizational-level expansion. This investment was made by, among others, Anne-Marie Rakhorst, entrepreneur and founder of the platform Duurzaamheid.nl.
Leave the car behind
In Amsterdam, the dark green electric scooters of the startup are already part of the street scene. The shared scooters can be easily rented via the felyx app for Apple and Android. For a per-minute price of €0.30, the renter can move around the city without worrying about maintenance or parking spots.
Felyx has established a successful sharing concept in Amsterdam, where the e-scooters can be picked up and left anywhere. Thanks to a well-thought-out approach to this 'free-floating' principle, (parking) nuisance is prevented. This was also an important condition to be allowed to start in Rotterdam.
The launch of felyx in Rotterdam is an important milestone for co-founder Quinten Selhorst: 'Our goal is not only to transport people but also to make cities in the Netherlands more livable. If you leave the car and taxi behind for short distances, you will have less traffic congestion, less emissions, and you will also be faster from A to B. A survey among users shows that 50 percent would have chosen a (shared) car or taxi if felyx had not been available for their last ride. Felyx also offers an excellent alternative for anyone who has or wants to buy a fuel scooter. We believe that Rotterdam is ready for felyx. And after Rotterdam, who knows... There are plenty of cities in the Netherlands, but also in Europe, where our green shared scooters can contribute to better accessibility and air quality for users and residents.'
100% electric and green energy
The e-scooters are not only green in color, they are also 100% electric and run entirely on green energy. In less than a year, the e-scooters have covered 430,000 km and saved 50 tons of CO2. To remove this amount of CO2 from the air, 2,500 trees would need to grow for a year. Additionally, the entire fleet is limited to the legally allowed speed of 25 km/h.
Felyx will start test rides in Rotterdam next month and expects to open the service to everyone in September.
