Mobike Japan and Japan’s Most Popular Messaging App Partner to Accelerate Adoption of Smart Bikesharing in Japan

(Source: Mobike)

Today, Mobike Japan partnered with LINE, Japan’s most popular messaging app with over 71 million users, to promote the adoption of smart bikesharing across the country.

Mobike will be integrated into LINE’s app as the exclusive bikesharing service that allows LINE users to sign up for Mobike, pay for their rides (with LINE pay or other methods), and find and unlock the bikes– all in-app– helping to create a seamless experience for LINE users in cities where Mobike is present.

"LINE is the clear leader in Japan’s social media space, with a strong culture of innovation and creativity, and therefore, is the perfect partner to support our ambitious growth plans in Japan,” Hu Weiwei, Founder and President of Mobike, said."

"Mobike brings the best quality smart bikes specifically designed for dockless bikesharing, and an Internet-of-Things (IoT)-based operation platform to serve local users and communities in Japan. Our ambition in Japan is to work with industry leading Japanese partners like LINE, as well as local governments and communities, to bring Mobike to more cities in Japan and to set the global standard for bikesharing."

(Source: Mobike)

The launch of this strategic partnership involves LINE Corporation leading a Series A round of investment in Mobike Japan, a subsidiary of Mobike focused on expansion in the Japanese market.

This partnership demonstrates Mobike’s global expansion strategy of building responsible local operations, and finding more ways to make using Mobike as convenient and localized as possible.

Takeshi Idezawa, President and CEO of LINE Corporation, said:

“Through this capital investment and strategic business partnership with Mobike, we can support the expansion of Mobike’s service in Japan by leveraging our network of local governments and private companies that make use of our various activities and services. Bike sharing has garnered much attention has in recent years, and I'm very pleased that we can develop business in cooperation with not only Mobike, which has developed the largest bike sharing service in the world, but also with Mobike Japan. Through this partnership, we are keen to provide additional services that make life more convenient and comfortable for LINE users.”

Mobike has already launched in the Japanese city of Sapporo with the support of the municipal government and will officially launch its service in Fukuoka this week. The company plans to launch in more cities around Japan throughout 2018 in cooperation with local governments and city councils.