Israeli co LEO launches e-scooters at the Dead Sea

Israeli electric scooter rental company LEO is now deploying its shared scooters by the Dead Sea. In partnership with Fattal hotels, The company has placed 100 shared electric scooters for rent in the hotel district of Ein Bokek.

While the major international e-scooter companies Lime, Bird and Wind have focused their operations on the Greater Tel Aviv area (including Ramat Gan, Givatayim and Petah Tikva to date), LEO is looking to the south, having already deployed electric scooters in Eilat, also in partnership with Fattal.

Furthermore, LEO has abandoned the dockless business model it had previously pursued, requiring users to return the scooters to fixed locations where the electric scooters are also recharged.

LEO owner Kfir Ben Shushan told "Globes," "We have switched to working only on a B2B model with fixed locations spread around strategic places everywhere that we operate, including hotels, businesses and commercial companies. We have drawn this conclusion after we were burned during our several month trial in Tel Aviv."

He added, "We began with 600 scooters and after a few months we were left with just 100. We very quickly understood that it was impossible to work in Tel Aviv because of the regulations, because of theft, because of the many accidents and mainly because of extreme vandalism that led to losses. We don't have millions to burn like Lime and Bird and it's impossible to compete in that way. We got the idea to change our business model from businessman Teddy Sagi and to work with organized fixed locations in cooperation with other companies like Fattal. Without that idea, there was no way that we would succeed in getting on our feet and becoming a profitable company."

"We've stopped throwing scooters into the garbage and we've learned how to profit from them. In Eilat, we've reach a profit of $15-30 per day per scooter as part of a trial we've conducted there. We deployed 200 scooters in Eilat and after two months we've not even lost a single one. We currently have 300 scooters there. There isn't the vandalism and thefts that we experienced in Tel Aviv."

The cost of renting an electric scooter by the Dead Sea is similar to the price in Tel Aviv - NIS 5 for each journey and an additional NIS 0.50 for every minute used (the ride can be suspended for up to 30 minutes for a coffee break and the like). The scooters are available for hire 24/7.

There are six locations by the Dead Sea from which the scooters can be rented and then left: Leonardo Plaza, Leonardo Club, Herods, Leonardo Inn (all Fattal hotels) as well as the Dead Sea Mall and the Ein Bokek gas station. Helmets are available with all scooters free of charge.

LEO is currently looking to raise more capital to support its operations. The company has plans to expand to Herzliya, Haifa and Netanya as well as overseas to Barcelona, Atlantic City (where it already has exclusive agreements with hotels) and other US cities.

LEO is controlled by Kfir and Dror Ben Shushan, who have a 70% stake and also own the Inoka scooter company. Elad Vered has a 20% stake, CEO Eldad Berkovic has a 5% stake, Tony Levy, an Israeli businessman in Japan has a 3% stake and former soccer star Eyal Berkovic, the company's ad presenter, also has a small stake.