摩拜单车(Mobike)已经从中国自行车共享服务的拥挤群体中脱颖而出,在最新一轮筹资中筹得2.15亿美元,以支持在中国大城市出现的共享单车骑行热潮。
The world’s most popular bike-sharing company by app downloads was backed by domestic tech giant Tencent and American private equity firm Warburg Pincus, as lead investors in its fourth big round.
世界上人气最高(按app下载量计算)的自行车共享公司得到中国国内科技巨擘腾讯(Tencent)和美国私募股权公司华平(Warbug Pincus)支持,这两家公司在摩拜单车的第四轮大规模筹资中是牵头投资者。
Mobike is gearing up for a showdown with its main rival ofo — so-called because the name looks like a bicycle — which raised $130m in third-round funding last October.
摩拜单车正在加紧准备与其主要竞争对手ofo(得名于这三个字母放在一起看起来像一辆自行车)对决,后者在去年10月的第三轮筹资中筹得1.3亿美元。
“It’s going to be a fierce fight in the bike-sharing industry,” said Chen Lin, assistant professor of marketing at China Europe International Business School. “There are more than 10 bike-sharing companies now with international funding.”
“自行车共享行业将出现一场激烈厮杀,”中欧国际工商学院(CEIBS)市场营销学助理教授林宸表示。“目前有10多家自行车共享公司引进了国际资金。”
Ms Chen added: “It’s more competitive than the car-sharing industry was in the days of Uber versus Didi, and it’s more welcome by the government, so less regulated.”
林宸补充说:“这比优步(Uber)对阵滴滴(Didi)时代的拼车行业竞争更激烈,而且更受政府欢迎,因此监管较少。”
The bike-sharing battle in fact mirrors the old Uber-Didi Chuxing spat: ofo is backed by Didi, while Mobike’s founder Davis Wang was an Uber executive in Shanghai.
共享单车大战事实上是当初优步-滴滴出行对决的某种翻版:ofo得到滴滴的支持,而摩拜单车创始人王晓峰(Davis Wong)曾是优步在上海的一名高管。
Mobike was launched in April 2016 and, within six months, its distinctive orange-wheeled bikes had become ubiquitous in China’s big cities. Its app has been downloaded 400,000 times on the Android app store alone, compared with ofo’s 170,000, according to ChinaChannel, a tech consultancy.
摩拜单车在2016年4月正式推出,短短6个月,其鲜明的橙色车轮自行车在中国多个大城市随处可见。据科技咨询公司ChinaChannel介绍,其app仅在Android应用商店就被下载40万次,相比之下ofo的app被下载17万次。
Its key features are a proprietary locking system and GPS navigation technology. GPS allows users to see which bikes are nearby and hold them for up to 15 minutes until they get there. Scanning a QR code on the bike unlocks it.
其主要特点是专有技术的锁定系统和GPS导航技术。GPS让用户能够查看附近有哪些自行车,并预约保留一辆自行车至多15分钟,让用户赶到自行车所在地,扫描自行车上的QR码,即可打开车锁。
The bike’s GPS device is powered by pedalling, saving the need for manual recharging, which ofo hires staff to do.
这些自行车上的GPS设备由脚踩踏板供电,省去了人工充电的需要,相比之下ofo雇用员工充电。
Users give Mobike a deposit of Rmb300 ($43) and upload an identity document. After being verified, they can rent a Mobike for Rmb1 per hour.
用户向摩拜单车支付300元人民币(合43美元)的押金,并上传身份证件。经验证后,他们能够以每小时1元人民币的价格租用摩拜的自行车。
Unlike other cycle hire schemes, such as the one offered by Transport for London in the English capital, Mobikes can be left anywhere — which has led to some city officials complaining of bike-littering.
与其他自行车租赁计划——比如伦敦交通局(Transport for London)提供的计划——不同,摩拜的自行车可以放在任何地方,这导致一些市政官员抱怨自行车乱停现象。
“It’s a hit with the young generation, who want to ‘own nothing, reject nothing and be responsible for nothing’,” said Ms Chen, amending a popular saying.
“它受到年轻一代的欢迎,他们什么都不想拥有,什么都不想排斥,什么都不想负责,”中欧国际工商学院的林宸套用了一个流行说法表示。
The scheme is not without its problems. Some users have taken bikes into their own homes to ensure they have a ride in the morning, an act that Mobike has declared to be theft. Vandals have disabled some bikes by ruining the QR codes.
摩拜单车的计划并不是没有问题。有些用户把自行车放在自己家里,以确保自己在早上能够骑上车;摩拜单车把这种行为称为盗窃。还有一些破坏者毁坏QR码,使一些自行车不能使用。
The lock is also not completely tamper-proof: China’s largest classifieds site, 58.com, said two weeks ago it was taking down adverts selling Mobikes and other services’ bikes, which can fetch up to Rmb2,000.
车锁也并不能完全防破坏:中国最大分类广告网站58同城(58.com)两周前表示,将撤下在其网站上出售摩拜单车和其他共享服务的自行车的广告,这些自行车可以卖到2000元人民币。
Mobike’s other investors in its series D round included China’s biggest travel company Ctrip, which recently acquired Skyscanner, as well as existing investor Sequoia China. Mobike was advised by China Renaissance.
参与摩拜单车第四轮筹资的其他投资者包括中国最大旅行公司、最近收购了航班搜索网站Skyscanner的携程(Ctrip),以及现有投资者红杉中国(Sequoia China)。摩拜单车在此轮筹资中的顾问是华兴资本(China Renaissance)。
The company did not disclose its valuation based on the latest round, but said: “What we can say is that our business continues to expand rapidly and we believe we are the largest player in our market by a considerable margin.”
该公司没有披露其基于最新一轮筹资的估值,但表示:“我们可以说的是,我们的业务继续快速扩张,我们相信自己是所在市场遥遥领先的最大参与者。”