2022 at Comodule - what a ride!
While the micromobility industry kept growing, this year the conversations about e-bikes and scooters were not only regarding sustainability and clean transportation, they shifted towards practicality and functionality. As gas prices soared, cargo bikes became an actual alternative to expensive family cars and not just the means of transport for delivery companies.
The rapid rise of the subscription model also shows that while there is interest to ride light electric vehicles, people often can’t afford to buy an e-bike or a scooter or they are just not interested in maintaining the vehicle.
For sharing operators, 2022 was not the easiest year, as the focus shifted to profitability instead of growth. Meanwhile, the sharing businesses are trying to find a balance on how to operate under an ever-growing pile of regulations.
Things are looking better for privately-owned vehicles. Despite continuous supply chain issues, e-bike sales reached record heights. As an added bonus, there are plenty of subsidy programs launched to support the industry.
The digitization of micromobility shows no stopping signs. More innovative bike and scooter brands are fully embracing vehicle connectivity, using it to prevent bike theft, communicate with their customers, and gather data insights for their business.
That’s the high-level overview of micromobility this year, let’s see what were the highlights of Comodule in 2022.
Comodule kept growing
Appointed a new CEO. In the middle of the year, Comodule’s long-time CEO and co-founder Kristjan Maruste handed the CEO role over to Teet Praks, co-founder of Comodule. Kristjan is now leading the newly formed parent group Kõu Mobility and one of the new business units Äike.
Doubled the size of the team. Again. To meet the demand, deliver exceptional quality, and develop new products, we grew the headcount at Comodule by more than 60%. In total there are now 190 people in the group, eager to change the mobility industry. Let’s just say it keeps getting increasingly tricky to remember everyone’s names.
We continue to hire! Check out our careers page if you are interested in joining us.
Grew our families also. It was a fruitful year for the business, but also in personal life for many Comodulers. Our team members welcomed 10 babies to their families.
Kept the energy high. We keep work nicely balanced with fun. Monthly team events included activities such as wall climbing, pizza baking, and fencing but also learning from guest speakers. The cycling enthusiasts of our team worked a week from Mallorca, using the evenings to cycle the hilly island roads.
Continued traditions. To keep innovating, we held the annual Kõu Hackaton. The winning team built a working sauna that can be moved on a scooter. Yes, you heard it here first. The most anticipated events each year are Kõu Strategy Days, held twice a year. The 2022 summer edition probably broke a world record for the most amount of dancing done in one night.
Gave back to society. Comodule gave out the annual scholarship for TalTech engineering students for the second year in a row. The scholarship is set up to commemorate Comodule’s engineer Sander Paas. To end the year on a high note, we gave bicycles to 20 children who really needed them. Felt nice to share the joy of cycling!
Empowering micromobility on a bigger scale
Connected nearly a quarter million vehicles. In 2022 Comodule connected around 200 000 e-bikes and scooters to the Internet. Just to put it in perspective, it’s 50 000 vehicles more than we connected the previous year. Over time Comodule has connected ca 650 000 light electric vehicles across the globe. We’re on our way to hitting a million!
A little fun fact: on average 200 telemetry messages per second are being sent within our connectivity eco-system, ranging from positional GPS signals to battery level indicators.
Worked with inspiring customers. Arguably the proudest part of 2022 was working with the most innovative bike and scooter companies out there. In addition to our existing rockstar customers, 11 new companies started using Comodule’s connectivity solutions: Swapfiets, Donkey Republic, Taito, and Hagen Bikes to name a few.
Improved our software products. Comodule Companion App went through a make-over and we started to roll out a more user-friendly app design. All in all, Companion App on average had 43 000 monthly active users in 2022. That’s nearly double the number compared to 2021.
Introduced Guardian. The biggest jump forward for our products was the launch of Guardian connectivity solution. The compact device makes e-bike connectivity available for more companies - no need for complex integration or development, the bike is theft-proof in a matter of minutes. Guardian is the suitable IoT solution for companies who are just discovering the world of connectivity and also a more affordable option for not-so-premium e-bikes.
Okay, enough about 2022, let’s switch to the next gear and reach new milestones in 2023.
