Uber Technologies-backed Lime is entering Japan’s growing e-scooter market, pitting the San Francisco startup against local Luup.
Lime, which has a global fleet of about 200,000 e-bikes and scooters, launched its service Monday in some of Tokyo’s most populous wards: Shibuya, Shinjuku, Meguro and Setagaya. Lime now has about 200 electric scooters and more than 40 charging stations. Tokyo-based Luup, which controls more than 90% of the domestic market in terms of mileage, operates 9,100 ports.
“We’re starting small,” Lime CEO Wayne Ting said in an interview. “We want to grow slowly with the city and really earn the trust of local regulators and city officials.”
