Smart theft protection integrated into every bike
The Challenge
The adoption of e-bikes as a sustainable urban mobility solution is increasingly challenged by high theft rates across European cities. The fear of theft discourages many citizens from investing in premium e-bikes, undermining confidence in cycling as a reliable and secure mode of everyday transport. This represents a significant barrier to the wider transition towards cleaner and more sustainable urban mobility systems.
The problem is further intensified by the fragmented nature of existing protection solutions. Bike insurance, GPS tracking and theft recovery services are typically offered separately, requiring users to manage multiple providers, contracts, registrations and payment schemes. This not only increases the overall cost of ownership but also creates a burdensome and inconvenient user experience. In addition, the lack of integration between tracking systems and insurers often results in inefficient theft response and delayed recovery processes.
For small and medium-sized bike manufacturers, the challenge is even greater. Unlike large OEMs, smaller manufacturers often lack the resources and scale needed to integrate comprehensive theft protection services into their sales process, reducing their competitiveness in a rapidly growing market.
As a result, the current mobility ecosystem fails to provide seamless and accessible protection solutions, limiting consumer trust and slowing the adoption of sustainable e-mobility alternatives.
The Solution
VELOSAFE integrates bike tracking, insurance and theft recovery into a seamless point-of-sale solution. The innovation eliminates fragmentation by bundling IoT tracking hardware, comprehensive insurance coverage and automated recovery services directly into the bike's recommended retail price at purchase.
Key features include automated bike data capture, real-time location tracking integrated with law enforcement and a digital-first claims process with tiered response scenarios covering recovery, repair, or replacement. The solution also includes a mobility guarantee, providing users with assistance and loaner e-bikes during recovery or replacement periods to ensure continuity of mobility.
The system is designed around a seamless user experience. When a bike is sold, tracking activation and insurance enrolment are completed with minimal user input. In the event of theft, recovery protocols are immediately triggered, enabling coordinated action between IoT tracking systems, police authorities and insurers to accelerate recovery and claims handling.
The VELOSAFE demonstration was conducted in Germany, focusing on premium e-bike retail channels and testing the complete customer journey under real-world conditions. The pilot integrated the solution across multiple dealerships in both urban and suburban areas, representing diverse cycling environments and theft risk profiles.
Screenshot of the Tout Terrain app showing the bike's location
Making an impact
The pilot demonstrated strong market, operational, and social impact by validating an integrated approach to e-bike protection and mobility continuity. One of the most significant outcomes was the successful onboarding of more than 20 dealers across the distribution network during 2025, with further expansion planned for 2026. This growing dealer base confirms strong market acceptance and demonstrates the scalability of the integrated protection model within real retail environments.
The project also delivered important operational benefits through its digital-first claims and service management system. Automated processes reduced administrative complexity and accelerated claims handling, while providing customers with transparent, real-time updates throughout the recovery journey. By integrating insurance, tracking and recovery into a single solution, VELOSAFE reduced traditional friction points associated with fragmented protection services and improved the overall customer experience.
From an economic perspective, the bundled service model lowers the total cost of ownership compared to purchasing separate insurance, tracking and recovery solutions. Socially, the system simplifies access to theft protection through seamless point-of-sale enrolment and ensures continuity of mobility through roadside assistance and replacement bikes during recovery periods. In parallel, improved theft recovery rates and reduced replacement demand contribute to lower environmental impact.
Lessons learnt
The pilot highlighted several key lessons for scaling integrated e-bike protection services. One major challenge was developing an insurance model that could automatically cover all bikes of a specific model while remaining adaptable across different manufacturers. This was addressed through close collaboration between insurance partner Laka and connectivity partner IoT Venture, enabling data-driven pricing based on tracking-enabled recovery rates and operational data.
Dealer integration also emerged as a critical factor. Initially, dealers feared that bundled insurance and tracking services would complicate sales processes and increase workload. This was overcome through early dealer involvement, extensive onboarding and full automation of backend processes. Bike data was integrated digitally before delivery, ensuring that dealers faced minimal additional effort at the point of sale.
The project confirmed that automation is essential for successful replication, as solutions requiring manual intervention are unlikely to achieve broad market adoption. Positioning insurance and tracking as manufacturer-provided services also increased customer trust and strengthened the value proposition. In addition, digital-first claims management significantly improved operational efficiency and customer experience.
The VELOSAFE model demonstrated strong replication potential across premium e-bike and cargo bike markets, particularly where theft concerns heavily influence purchasing decisions.
