Whoosh to soon start operating in Sao Paolo, other Latin American cities
MOSCOW. Nov 28 (Interfax) - PJSC Whoosh Holding, the holding company of Russian electric scooter and bike sharing service operator Whoosh, plans to soon enter the markets of several cities in Latin America, including Sao Paolo, Brazil, the company's CEO and largest shareholder, Dmitry Chuiko said.
"We're launching in Sao Paolo literally within a month. Virtually everything there is ready for launch. And we'll launch several more cities in Spanish-speaking countries in the near future. The active stage of work is now underway there, when we obtain permits to work in cities," Chuiko said on YouTube channel Pulse.
Whoosh has been operating on a pilot basis in three Latin American countries - Brazil, Peru and Chile - since the second quarter of 2023.
Chuiko said the company now has a presence in five cities in these countries, including Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and Temuco, Chile. There are about 12,000 Whoosh scooters in these three countries, which amounts to more than 5% of the company's total fleet, he said.
Whoosh sees great potential in the Latin American market, he said. "We believe this market is comparable to the Russian market, maybe even a little bigger than the Russian market," Chuiko said.
Asked if the company plans to enter African or Asian markets, he said Whoosh intends to focus on growth in Russia and Latin America.
"We look [at Africa and Asia] periodically. But it seems extremely important to maintain focus here. We have two focuses now. We're continuing to actively develop in Russia and maintain a leading position, and the second focus is that we're developing in Latin America. Acquiring some other third focus, another area right now, I think, would be completely wrong. There's a big market, we need to develop this market, which is what we're doing," Chuiko said.
"We look a little from time to time at what's happening in Europe, in Africa, in Turkey, in Asia and so on. At this point we don't feel a very strong potential there, first of all. Secondly, we have objectives that we're working on now. We don't feel we have the resources to go somewhere else, so we need to develop these two focuses that are current, and then we'll see," Chuiko said.
Commenting on growth in Russia, he said Whoosh is starting to consider expanding into small cities with populations of less than 200,000, and will continue to expand its penetration in cities where it already has a presence.
Whoosh, which carried out an IPO in December 2022, operates in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Chuiko holds a 39% stake in the company and the free float was 19% as of June 30, 2029.