Ford Motor Co.-owned electric scooter-sharing company Spin is expanding internationally with plans to launch in Europe in the next year.

The company will initially launch its first international fleet in Cologne, Germany, in the northern spring with other German cities to follow. Spin is also applying for an e-scooter share permit in France and will explore opportunities in the U.K.

Spin, arguably not as well-known as venture capital-funded startups such as Bird Rides Inc. and LimeBike Inc., was acquired by Ford in November 2018 at a price reported to be between $40 million and $100 million. At the time of its acquisition, the company was providing services in nine cities and on five university campuses.

Sixteen months later, the company now offers scooters in 60 cities and 25 universities with 20 exclusive partnerships in the U.S. Over the same period, Spin’s staff has also grown from 24 employees to more than 600.

The move into Europe is being framed around sustainability as well as working with local authorities to provide services legally. “We believe that community integration is integral to our long-term success,” Euwyn Poon, co-founder and president of Spin, said in a statement. “That’s why we have local teams dedicated to listening to the people in the communities we operate, gathering feedback so that we can offer the best service possible.”

Its path to success in Europe, however, will not be an easy one. As TechCrunch pointed out, Spin will be competing directly against Bird, Lime and Circ in Cologne, and Germany already has seven startups providing scooter services across 37 cities.

Still, having the power and support of Ford behind it certainly gives Spin strong potential. “Being part of Ford helps us to offer long-term commitments to our partners as well as infrastructure investments such as Spin Hubs charging stations and multimodal lanes,” Spin co-founder and chief executive officer Derrick Ko told Elective.

Spin’s other challenges in Europe include being able to find receptive governments. In the U.K., electric scooters are banned from public roads, though that could change. In January it was reported that trials in cities across the country could take place in the coming months and that the U.K. government is reviewing the law. Scooters have also been controversial in France, with Paris cracking down on service providers and users in June.

Photo: Spin