The micro-mobility market has, until now, been quite fragmented with different operators offering different combinations of hire vehicles in different cities. There was a degree of consolidation this week however with the announcement that Berlin-based e-scooter operator Tier have acquired Leipzig bike and e-bike share firm, Nextbike.

Nextbike, which was established in 2004, runs a number of bike-share schemes in the UK, several of which feature e-bikes.

While Tier did already offer e-bikes in some locations, they have until now primarily focused on e-scooters. The firm is one of London’s three e-scooter operators and also runs a share scheme in York.

Announcing the York scheme a year ago, Tier co-founder and CEO Lawrence Leuschner did however flag that his firm had broader ambitions: “Our vision is a completely new way of how we will move in cities in the future: all electric, shared and affordable, and with different vehicles powered by one energy network.”

A spokesperson said Tier’s acquisition would result in, “Europe's largest and most diverse micro-mobility provider with more than 250,000 vehicles in over 400 cities.”

They continued: “The combination of bicycles, e-bikes, cargo bikes, e-scooters and e-mopeds in free-floating, station-based and hybrid sharing systems creates the industry's first truly multimodal platform. This makes it much easier for users to choose between different means of transport for each route without using their own car.”

Leuschner commented: "The acquisition of Nextbike – with its unrivalled experience and relationships across hundreds of cities – is a unique opportunity to take bike share to the next level, getting more people out of cars and offering the most sustainable mobility solution.

“I have always held a deep belief in the transformative power of bikes in cities and it is great to see the bike market is growing rapidly.

“Our shared values of sustainability and respect for cities across two strong leadership teams, underpinned by Tier’s financial backing and capital efficiency, present an unstoppable, joint mission to change mobility for good."

Leonhard von Harrach, CEO of Nextbike added: "Since 2004, we have been providing sustainable mobility to hundreds of thousands of people every day and have established bike sharing as a component of public transport worldwide.

“We decided to partner with Tier because there is a significant common ground in the corporate culture. Above all, however, we are united in our mission to make cities more liveable with our mobility services and to do something about traffic congestion, pollution and noise.”