A green light for Polish scooters in Portugal

Hop.City is a brand of the Polish company JedenŚlad Sp. z o.o., offering, among other things, electric vehicle rental services for business and individual clients in the sharing model. The brand has its own system and application for the keyless use of scooters. The company was founded in 2018 by three friends and was quickly appreciated by the domestic market. In May 2019, the company won the title of the laureate of the Warsaw BOOSTER acceleration project. Currently, electric vehicles are available to individual customers in the sharing model in Poland and to business partners in the country and abroad, including in Romania and Great Britain. Thanks to the support of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency, scooters with the Polish "label" will also be seen on the streets of Lisbon.

The Hop.City brand project successfully fits into the changes taking place on the Portuguese market in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, but also into the current trends related to the development of urban electromobility. As a result of the limitation of the conventional catering industry, the online food ordering market is expanding rapidly. So it becomes necessary to meet the new needs and requirements of customers. In Portugal, electric scooters are the answer to these changes. We are glad that a Polish company will be the next player in this industry in Portugal. The PAIH office in Lisbon supported the company in the logistics process, including the legalization of the vehicles, so that they could legally arrive on the streets of Lisbon - says the PAIH office manager in Portugal, Dariusz Duda.

Hop.City will make its scooters available to one of the key partners in the food delivery industry in Lisbon. The first stage of cooperation is the handover of the vehicles and their operational management to a partner in the Portuguese capital. But the company has specific plans for the future.

Ultimately, we plan to launch the so-called "hubless", thanks to which we will be able to manage the fleet and drivers in an even better way. We are already testing this system on the Polish market. We are sure that if cooperation with our foreign partner goes according to plan, we will also launch a similar model in Portugal. Our vehicles are great for the catering and courier business as well as in the role of fleet vehicles. We are grateful to the Polish Investment and Trade Agency for their support in managing the entire process of transport and logistics of the vehicles in Lisbon. Entering the Portuguese market, in such a specific period as a pandemic, we knew that there would be difficulties. Without PAIH's support, we would probably still be at the transport planning stage - says Patrycja Ogrodnik, Brand Manager at Hop.City.

Electromobility drives the online ordering market

The pandemic has shown that working with partners who make online delivery of orders possible is a must.

Electric scooters have long been gaining in popularity, but COVID-19 has exacerbated these trends even further. Due to the limited activity of gastronomic and event establishments, the food delivery sector is growing in strength. New consumer habits have mad the online food ordering market grow dynamically.

- Our experience from 2020 shows that the demand for Hop.City vehicles for the delivery industry, including food delivery, has significantly increased over the year. Comparing January 2020 and January 2021, we recorded as much as a 340 percent increase. Traveling 100 km on a Hop.City scooter costs about PLN 10. Our scooters, on one battery can travel up to 50 km, and scooters with two battery packs - up to 90 km. The scooter driver can choose between two driving modes: ECO, up to 25 km / hr. and SPORT, up to 45 km / hr. - thanks to the MODE button - explains Patrycja Ogrodnik.

Due to the pandemic, the company has created additional safety and vehicle disinfection procedures, including disposable caps, the disinfection of helmets and grips.

The Hop.City brand, together with the project to expand into the Portuguese market, fits perfectly, not only with the expectations of customers using scooters, but also with the policy priorities of the Lisbon City authorities. The framework document on the long-term urban mobility strategy includes, inter alia, provisions about a reduction in the use of private passenger cars to 34% and an increase in alternative mobility measures to 66% in 2030 (e.g. e-sharing vehicles). It is also about creating zero-emission urban zones: the historic districts of the city will be accessible only to buses and electric and hybrid vehicles. Lisbon’s authorities are already putting their declarations into effect - 91% of the vehicles that the City Hall has in its fleet are low-emission vehicles. The effectiveness of the Portuguese capital in this respect is additionally confirmed by the European Green Capital Award, awarded to the city in 2020. The City Authorities have created a Pact for Business Mobility with 90 largest companies and institutions in Portugal. The project assumes taking actions - incl. the promotion of electromobility or reduction of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions - aimed at achieving emission neutrality much faster.

Hop.City started its expansion into the Portuguese market from Lisbon, but as the company assures - that this is just the beginning.

About the Polish Investment and Trade Agency

The Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH) is an advisory institution that is part of the Polish Development Fund Group (PFR). It is the first point of contact for exporters and investors. It operates both in Poland and through a network of offices around the world. It strengthens the recognition of Polish brands on international markets, promotes domestic products and services, as well as technological solutions made in Poland. The agency helps entrepreneurs choose the optimal expansion path abroad. It also supports the inflow of direct foreign investments to Poland and the implementation of Polish investments in the country. PAIH cooperates with the public sector and regional partners, offering, among other things: training, audit and the promotion of investment properties, cooperation in the organization of business missions and communication support in the implementation of joint projects.