LG Electronics broadens electronic mobility service to micro mobility solution

Pluspot e-kick charging station [Provided by LG Electronics Inc.]

South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. has been beefing up electric mobility business as electronics become primary power behind vehicles in the new mobility age.

According to industry sources on Wednesday, LG Electronics’ company in company CurrentDot last month introduced free e-kick charging station service Pluspot, which rewards cash coupons for spending in convenience store for returning e-kicks to the stations. At the stations, e-kicks can be charged free of charge, another bonus to scooter providers.

CurrentDot has installed about 20 stations in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province and will expand the service to two to three other regions within the year, it said. It is looking at the stations acting as offline meeting places for scooters for marketing benefit from lock-in effect.

Upon achieving 100,000 milestone in user base, it plans to take the service to bigger markets of North America and Europe.

“With the rapid growth of the personal mobility market, free-floating e-scooters are rising fast as well. I’ve suggested the project to the company for cleaner and safer cities,” said Alex Wondong Do, head of CurrentDot. “By connecting stations with nearby stores, marketing benefit would be a plus.”

Pluspot service is one of many mobility businesses LG Electronics is grooming. The tech giant in July acquired a 60 percent stake in local EV charging solutions startup AppleMango.

Among other LG Group family units, LG Energy Solution manufacturers EV batteries, and LG Uplus reportedly is preparing to launch an integrated management platform for EV charging within the year.

By Lee Sae-ha and Lee Ha-yeon