小蓝单车倒闭预示中国共享单车泡沫破裂

China’s third-largest bike-sharing start-up, which recently had expanded its reach into San Francisco, has failed in what analysts are calling the first sign of a bursting of the country’s bike-sharing bubble.

不久前扩张进入旧金山的中国第三大共享单车创业企业倒闭了。分析师把此事称为中国共享单车泡沫破灭的第一个信号。

“As a CEO, I’ve made mistakes,” wrote Bluegogo chief executive Li Gang in a public letter on Thursday night. “I was filled with arrogance.”

“作为一位CEO，我做错了，”小蓝单车(Bluegogo)首席执行官李刚在周四晚的一封公开信中写道，“我心里充满了自大。”

Analysts have described the bike-sharing boom as just the latest in a string of Chinese tech bubbles. Like other fads, it has seen rapid expansion fuelled by venture capital money, winning market share with lossmaking prices followed by a collapse in funding that kills off firms and leaves a monopoly.

分析师把共享单车热潮描述为中国一连串科技泡沫中最新的一个。像其他时髦一样，共享单车在风险资本资金的助推下迅速发展，以亏本价格赢取市场份额，然后发生融资断裂，导致大量公司倒闭并形成垄断。

After launching in January, Bluegogo rolled out 600,000 bicycles in just six months, winning 20m riders. Those users will now be looking for the return of their Rmb99 deposit.

自今年1月创立以来，小蓝单车仅用6个月便投放了60万辆单车，赢得了2000万骑行用户。现在，这些用户将想法讨回他们的99元人民币的押金。

“I hope the Bluegogo team can leave with their heads held high,” Mr Li said, promising to repay wages owed to employees.

“我相信每一个人都可以挺起胸膛离开，”李刚说。他承诺将偿还拖欠员工的工资。

The sector now has two dominant players, Mobike and ofo, which raised almost $2bn in total in 2017 alone. In comparison, Bluegogo raised Rmb400m ($58m) this year.

目前，共享单车行业有两个占主导地位的玩家——摩拜(Mobike)和ofo，这两家公司仅在2017年的融资额之和便接近20亿美元。相比之下，小蓝单车今年融资额为4亿元人民币(合5800万美元)。

“The winner-takes-all outcome is what happens to almost all internet companies in China,” said Chen Lin, assistant professor at China-Europe International Business School in Shanghai. “The size of China’s market means that the benefits of creating a large network are even more important here, and that gives bigger companies an advantage.”

“赢家通吃是发生在几乎中国所有互联网企业的结果，”上海中欧国际工商学院(CEIBS)助理教授林宸说，“中国市场的规模意味着，在这里创建一张大型网络的好处甚至更重大，这让规模更大的公司获得优势。”