Wunder Mobility’s new lending business helps micromobility startups finance fleets – TechCrunch

Wunder Mobility built its business sales software on shooter, e-bike and even short-term car rental startups. Now they are relying on a new – and once secret – credit department to generate more revenue, which will give micromobility operators another way to access capital without pitching venture capitalists and other investors.

The company announced the official launch of Wunder Capital, a subsidiary that offers micromobility operators fleet financing solutions. Wunder Capital that was The company has been operating in stealth mode for two years and has already funded more than 25 companies, according to the company.

As shared micromobility becomes the norm, the industry has the opportunity to scale up dramatically, said Gunnar Froh, founder and CEO of Wunder Mobility, in a recent interview. He believes traditional VC-backed funding rounds are too slow to keep pace with the growth required to keep pace with increasing demand.

“Now you can basically start on our software platform in a few weeks and also bring vehicles through us that are optimized for the sharing case and then pay for them entirely through revenue sharing,” Froh told TechCrunch.

Wunder Capital aims to be a one-stop-shop for joint operators looking for operational software, quality vehicles, and the money to buy them. Froh estimates that such a package would cost an operator around 40% of monthly revenue.

The founder originally recognized the potential for diversifying the Wunder portfolio when he discovered the influence his sales team had on vehicle operators’ purchase decisions. After his team set up new operators with an app and software, the operators inevitably asked for recommendations from the vehicle manufacturers.

Miracle Mobility said Tuesday it is too Partnership with Yadea, a leading manufacturer of light electric vehicles in China, is jointly developing an electric moped that has been converted for shared use. The company also intends to co-develop and fund e-bikes and kick scooters this year, but did not specify which manufacturers it would work with.

“We have reseller agreements, so we would always recommend this Yadea moped and then achieve a margin,” said Froh. “Then we would talk to Yadea and give them modifications to prepare for sharing the mopeds and then we would have the opportunity to talk to the operators about how they are going to fund this purchase, what restrictions you are facing, and soon. “

Wunder Capital recently added the German electric scooter sharing company Emmy as a financing customer. Wunder Capital finances 1,500 converted Yadea G5L e-mopeds for Emmys locations in Munich, Hamburg and Berlin. Unlike Yadea’s consumer models, these mopeds have a more stable base, more intuitive controls, double the range and improved battery management systems.

“Some companies go through venture capital, but it’s very costly in terms of the return expectations and control they want, and it keeps people from expanding their fleets,” said Froh. “We refinance through banks that normally don’t see a single operator and are comfortable with reselling these vehicles. We combine several operators into one portfolio and then have access to a liquid secondary market. “

To determine risk and make credit decisions, Wunder Capital uses APIs to Collect anonymized travel data from operators to compare operational efficiencies between companies. This data collection also enables the division to flag when an operator is not doing well and is at risk of running out of payments. In this case, Wunder Capital can proactively use restructuring loans.

“If a failure occurs, we can take vehicles from one operator and send them to another location in the world,” said Froh. “With this model, we can refinance relatively cheaply.”

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