Anyone who’s caught up on the deal data in Hampleton Partners’ latest Autotech & Mobility Report will know that acquirers have pressed down on the accelerator in 1H25, with the sector seeing the third-highest ever transaction count in any half-year reporting period. Beyond general factors such as the easing of macroeconomic pressures and growing investor confidence across the tech landscape, one key contributor to the dealmaking surge has been highly robust activity within the Mobility & Fleet Management subsector. 

Indeed, transaction volume in this segment has hurtled to a record high this year, marking a 70% increase on the number of deals we saw in 2H24. Michael Brecht, Hampleton’s Autotech & Mobility sector principal and author of The MOTION Brief newsletter, notes in the report that “as a category, mobility-focused firms, from ride-hailing companies to those providing state-of-the-art software for running low-emission zones, now make up the single biggest draw for acquirers and investors in the Autotech space. We can expect activity to rise still further as AI-based technologies continue to optimise supply chains and bring new efficiencies to urban traffic management.” 

Let’s look at some of the landmark mobility deals in the segment so far this year, and what they tell us about the larger trends influencing acquirer appetites in this subsector. 

US ride-hail company Lyft’s acquisition of Freenow, the German platform which allows users to book taxis, e-bikes and other transportation options, highlights how consolidation opportunities are opening up as big auto companies retreat from the competitive and financial challenges of the mobility sector. 

Freenow had been co-owned by BMW and Mercedes-Benz, and was a central plank of their joint plan to provide an Uber-beating range of European mobility services. But six years on from forging a USD 1.1bn partnership to grow their mobility divisions, BMW and Mercedes opted to divest the platform in order to focus their resources on their core manufacturing businesses and the pressing demands of electrification and digitalisation. 

The auto giants’ pivot away from mobility has provided a convenient way into the European market for Lyft. Its USD 197m purchase of Freenow has immediately expanded its footprint to more than 150 cities across the continent, bypassing the hurdles of establishing its brand from scratch and presenting a serious challenge to fellow American company Uber.

Lyft is far from the only mobility tech firm making consolidation moves in Europe. Uber bought Dantaxi, Denmark’s largest taxi company, in a deal which cements its return to the Danish market after regulatory issues compelled it to dramatically pull out in 2017. Meanwhile, the Estonian ride-hailing and micromobility company Bolt made its first ever acquisition by snapping up another Danish firm, Viggo, for an undisclosed amount.

Viggo operates a fleet of EVs in Copenhagen and Aarhus, and its purchase bolsters Bolt’s position in Denmark, where its e-bikes are already in wide use. The move marks a break with Bolt’s previous focus on organic international growth, reflecting the imperative among ride-hailing and e-mobility companies to consolidate and expand market share in this highly fragmented and competitive sector. 

Viggo’s strong domestic reputation and all-electric model allowed it to clear what Bolt’s CEO described as a “very high bar for M&A”, and buying the company has significantly expanded Bolt’s European presence ahead of a rumoured IPO next year.    

Another spur to M&A activity in this space is the race to adopt green technologies which enable the fulfilment of increasingly stringent regulations and investor expectations around emissions. A case in point is the acquisition of Spanish smart mobility solutions company EYSA by asset management firm Tikehau Capital.

While EYSA is far from a hot young ESG-focused startup, having been founded back in 1975, its technology is tailored to today’s sustainability concerns, from managing low-emission zones in urban areas to orchestrating intelligent transportation systems. This made it highly compatible with Tikeahu’s “flagship private equity decarbonisation strategy”, which seeks to back companies advancing decarbonisation and energy efficiency solutions.

The deal, struck for around USD 706m, is expected to fuel a significant expansion of EYSA’s global presence, which already encompasses over 60 countries where its solutions are being leveraged by urban planners and private businesses. 

The accelerating demand for intelligent, integrated mobility and fleet management solutions is encouraging buyers to leverage M&A as a more efficient and rapid form of R&D – as well as a way into new markets. An example is the acquisition, for an undisclosed sum, of Brazil-based urban mobility provider Kovi by Moove.

Founded in Nigeria, Moove provides vehicle financing to ride-hailing and delivery drivers, and has received substantial financial backing from Uber among other investors. Its purchase of Kovi, which offers the equivalent service in Latin America, not only forms part of Moove’s stated aim of building “the world’s largest rideshare fleet”, but also expands its technological capabilities with the incorporation of Kovi’s proprietary IoT and AI-based software. 

As investors and acquirers continue to stake their claims on mobility innovations, founders and senior executives in this subsector may naturally want to explore the kinds of exit opportunities which are potentially open to them. You can reach out to our sector principal Michael Brecht to get the ball rolling on your M&A strategy, or read his insights in our new Autotech report.

Don’t forget that you can also download all of our half-yearly M&A market reports which explore transaction statistics, valuation trends and pivotal deals within sectors ranging from Enterprise Software to Digital Commerce to Autotech & Mobility. Subscribe to ensure you never miss out on the latest research and insights from the team of expert analysts at Hampleton Partners.