(Yicai Global) July 9 -- Ezymov Technologies' bike-sharing arm Eazymov has launched its hybrid bicycle service in Italy and Greece in a bid to explore overseas markets.

Eazymov has chosen two European cities as its first landing point, the Ireland-based firm said in a press conference in Shanghai. The joint venture between a Chinese Xingjian Public Bicycle and a European technology service provider will further launch another 2,000 shared bikes overseas in September, with new destinations including Cyprus and Austria.

In Italy's northeastern city of Alba, more than 2,000 customers registered within the first three days of operation, making up 8 percent of the city's total population.

Eazymov's made-in-China bicycles are so expensive that it does not want to engage in a price war in the domestic market, Chief Managing Officer Zhang Weiqin said. That is why the firm will focus on hilly small cities of Europe where China's two biggest bike-sharers have not reached yet.

Mobike operates in Italy's Florence and both it and Ofo rival for the bike-sharing chiefdom on the streets of Milan. The price of Mobike-riding in Italy is EUR0.5 per half an hour (CNY3.9), almost four times that of China's, a Chinese student in Turin said.

Eazymov does not use deposits, and it seems like its users accept the price of EUR2-3 per hour, Jiang Yijian, vice president of the firm said.

Part of Eazymov's strategy is to cooperate with local firms. In Alba, residents can swipe their public transport card or smartphone applications to use bikes. In the city of Rethymno on the Greek island of Crete, the firm partnered with bike-sharer BrainBox and offers riding cards for tourists.

Eazymov can become profitable much faster in Europe than in the domestic market, Zhang said, adding that the company is negotiating its B-round of financing with foreign investors. 

Editor: Emmi Laine