Micromobility charging technology company Swiftmile will partner with parking operator Apcoa to install e-scooter and e-bike charging in Stuttgart’s urban parking garages.
In a joint event with the City of Stuttgart, during its mobility week, Swiftmile and Apcoa’s inaugurated charging stations will be set up in four parking sites throughout the city, with plans to expand to 10+ locations this autumn.
This partnership is a founding element of Apcoa’s new urban bubs initiative, which reimagines urban parking garages as technology-forward ecosystems for electrification, multimodal travel, and last-mile logistics.
Stuttgart will be a ‘showcase city’ for adapting parking infrastructure to support a shift toward micromobility—which can replace an estimated six out of 10 car trips in German cities, according to the partnership.
“The digital and on-demand economy, especially in the field of mobility and logistics, needs a physical basis and a smart and flexible infrastructure,” said Philippe Op de Beeck, CEO of Apcoa.
“With more than 11,000 sites we have created Europe’s largest network of digitally connected car parks. Our hubs combine parking with logistics and technology services, shared mobility platforms and charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. We are excited to welcome Swiftmile as a partner in our locations.”
Read more: Apcoa partners with Reef to repurpose urban parking spaces
The first user of the charging stations will be Germany’s micromobility operator Tier, which already hosts its battery swap kiosks for e-scooters in Apcoa garages. Tier will use the Swiftmile stations to directly recharge its local fleet of 1,500 e-scooters. The project is designed to allow seamless multimodal travel for Apcoa parking patrons. Future iterations of this partnership may also support charging needs for Tier’s e-bike and e-moped fleet.
“There are emerging opportunities around the globe to repurpose car parking infrastructure for the new era of urban transport, and we’re honoured to partner with Apcoa to lead this trend in Germany,” added Swiftmile CEO Colin Roche.
“These strategically-placed Swiftmile stations will help grow sustainable modeshare in Stuttgart, and we’re eager to continue this work across other Apcoa markets.”
This is the latest deployment in a series of partnerships that Swiftmile has cultivated to minimise micromobility clutter and advance shared, sustainable mobility. In June, Swiftmile partnered with Shell Brands International to include micromobility charging in Shell’s portfolio of EV charging services.
