With Coup, Bosch is launching its first purely end-user and concessions business in the mobility sector and creating a new independent brand. Coup wants to help overcome the urban mobility challenge. Mobility requirements and demands are changing. Bosch wants to shape this change with their own mobility and service solutions.

—Dr. Markus Heyn, member of the Bosch board of management responsible for the project

The company is already working on solutions for connected parking management, cloud-based fleet management, and app-based mobility assistants that support the multimodal use of different types of transport. The new Coup sharing service represents an additional building block for the Mobility Solutions business sector.

At launch, 200 connected eScooters will be available in the Berlin neighborhoods of Mitte, Prenzlauer Berg, Friedrichshain, and Kreuzberg. They have a maximum speed of 45 km/h—everyone over 21 holding a car or motorcycle driving licence can use them.

The storage compartment under the seat fits one helmet and two swappable batteries. In the future, a second helmet will be provided. The eScooters have a range of around 100 kilometers (62 miles). Coup handles recharging.

The pricing model is based on a flat-rate fee which charges €3 (US$3.40) for 30 minutes or €20 (US$22) for the whole day. The service is accessed via an accompanying app; the intuitive interface makes it simple to find, book, and pay for a scooter. Even opening the helmet box is controlled by smartphone, which is connected to the eScooter via Bluetooth.

Coup is collaborating closely with Gogoro on this project. Gogoro introduced the Gogoro Smartscooter EV and the Gogoro Energy Network at the Consumer Electronics Show in early 2015 and launched in Taipei Taiwan in August 2015. Gogoro has sold more than 10,000 Smartscooters.

The set-up and operation of the sharing platform have taken place in close strategic partnership with BCG Digital Ventures, the corporate venturing subsidiary of the Boston Consulting Group.