Dealroom.co has recently released the State of European Mobility Startups 2021 report, which has painted a very positive scenario for the European transportation sector. According to the report, the year 2021 was the best year ever for mobility investments in Europe.
The growth in numbers
First things first, the European mobility startups jumped to a combined value of $227 billion, up 8.4x since 2016, with the record VC investments of $14B, up 2.7x since 2020. The report also highlights that more than 40% of all European mobility unicorns were established last year. Specifically, out of the 34 mobility unicorns in Europe, 14 were created in 2021, compared to 4 in 2020.
Corporate investments
In 2021, corporate investments represent around 20% of the funding, from just 7% in 2015, although significantly decreasing since 2018 (50%) and 2019 (45%). Deeptech (29.2%) and mobility (28.7%) are the sectors where these types of investment are more present (2015-2021). The industry’s strong capital resources and considerable sectoral expertise justify corporate investments in mobility. Investing also ensures partnerships, minimises risks from industry disruption, and secures good financial returns.
Strategic industries
Considering the strategic sectors, what managed to attract the most substantial amount of funding are electric mobility, including clean energy and energy storage, mobility platforms, and logistics & delivery, which also represent the fastest-growing sub-industries. In particular, Europe is leading in micromobility and EV mobility. Micromobility shows to be a maturing and consolidating sector. It attracted more than $1.4B of investments in 2021, as much as the US and China combined. EV mobility reported a massive growth, with investment into EV charging infrastructure increasing 11x to $1B. This evolution reflects the change of habits after the pandemic and due to environmental awareness.
Geographical analysis
With €3.6B, Sweden gets first place in VC funding in mobility thanks to NorthVolt in 2021, surpassing Germany (€2.5B) which however has received the most investments since 2015, with a total of €7.1B. The UK and France follow in third and fourth place. The strategic hubs for mobility in Europe remain Stockholm, Berlin, London, Munich, and Paris. Barcelona, Madrid, and Amsterdam follow.
Learn more on what happened in mobility in 2021 and download the State of European Mobility Startups 2021 report here.
