Heavy e-cargo bikes: Mubea takes over Citkar

The automotive supplier Mubea, along with its micromobility division U-Mobility, announced the acquisition of the cargo bike start-up Citkar ahead of the start of Eurobike 2023 in Frankfurt (June 21-25). According to the supplier, the current goal of many projects in European metropolises is to handle last-mile transport in an emission-low, cost-efficient, and space-saving manner through the use of heavy-duty cargo bikes. The lower operating costs compared to cars and vans have already opened up new areas of application for heavy-duty bikes and led to the fleet expansion of several major logistics players in the last-mile sector. However, to fully exploit their potential, scaled vehicle solutions and comprehensive ecosystems in sales and aftersales are needed, advocates the supplier from Attendorn.

"Mubea and Citkar share the vision of transforming urban mobility with sustainable, space-saving, and economical vehicle solutions. We want to demonstrate that increased mobility needs, including in freight transport, can be aligned with the desire for greener, more livable cities," says Stefan Cuber, head of the micromobility division at automotive supplier Mubea.

Effective immediately, the early-launched Berlin start-up Citkar and the lightweight construction specialist Mubea will be working together on this vision. Developing a new vehicle category, integrating it into our customers' operations, and building the associated Europe-wide service infrastructure is said to be a complex task. By merging the teams of Citkar and Mubea, combining technological know-how, as well as sales and service experience, they are able to "significantly accelerate scaling in the European market, and in the mid-term also in non-European markets," Cuber further explains the background. Together with the Mubea team, they aim to establish the market leader in the heavy-duty cargo bike segment, adds Stefan Räth, CEO of Citkar.

In the future, the market will operate under Mubea U-Mobility. With the acquisition, the automotive supplier underlines its ambitions to expand the micromobility division into a strong pillar of the family business alongside its successful entry into the aviation industry.