Dott delays the retirement age of its scooters

By refurbishing rather than replacing its electric scooters, the self-service operator Dott aims to cut its CO₂ emissions in Lyon by half.

As we’ve seen recently, a study showed that free-floating electric scooters emit more CO₂ than a car if they only last 6 months. But even with a 2-year lifespan, they remain more polluting than an electric bike. However, Dott wants to reassure on this point.

7 years of service for a Dott electric scooter?

The Franco-Dutch operator already admits that the fleet available in Lyon has been in service for 3 years. We are talking about 2,000 electric scooters that started operating in 2020 on city streets. They average 5,000 km on the odometer, with the most used reaching up to 8,000 km! Dott plans to do even better by refurbishing the vehicles to extend their lifespan to 7 years. This is part of the renewal of the contract with the city for 2023-2027 (with its competitor Tier).

“We have always prioritized proper maintenance of our vehicles, which extends their lifespan and helps us reduce our environmental impact,” declares Maxim Romain, co-founder and COO of Dott. “This unique project marks a scale change for us: we are refurbishing an entire fleet for the first time.”

Half as much CO₂ overall

To refurbish its free-floating electric scooters, Dott partners with Teyssedre in Lyon. The vehicles will even be equipped with a new GPS and a phone holder, useful for navigation display. For 2024, the operator had signed a specifications document in February to add “boxes that detect the number of passengers to limit speed”, revealed Lyon Mag.

Thanks to this operation, Dott can claim to reduce its CO₂ emissions over the entire lifecycle of its electric scooters by 50%. The company plans to continue this approach in other cities and countries, “with an additional refurbishment center set up in Poland.”

Also read: Plume, the scooter powered by Made in France (Interview)