The impetus for both companies has been to scale globally. Mobike and Ofo have both opened up in cities aggressively. Ofo has entered Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan, while juggling new cities in further markets like Seattle; Mobike has also been expanding aggressively in Europe and other Western cities. Both have started moving into the US market, with Ofo also fighting local companies there such as Spin (started by Singaporean founders based in the US) and Limebike.
The competition is intense on many fronts — in China, companies like 3Vbike’s failure follows last month’s closure of Chongqing-based bike sharer Wukong. The company’s founder blamed the shutdown on its inability to secure quality bicycles like those used by its larger competitors.