car-sharing is on the rise

Posted on 17 February 202212 July 2024 by Tony Minatchy

car-sharing is on the rise

connectivity
shared mobility

When it comes to consumer trends in automotives, habits are changing: more and more customers are increasingly interested in how they use rather a vehicle rather than owning it. Their main criteria are flexibility and availability: move about easily, find a clean and available vehicle nearby, when needed. A comprehensive service, where you only pay for what you use at price known in advance. As simple as that!

This is precisely what Mobilize offers through its ZITY by Mobilize car-sharing service. In an effort to optimize vehicle availability and reduce their downtime, the brand is working on new processes as part of an experimental project out of the Flins Re-Factory. A small, dedicated team has been given a mission of utmost importance: prove that vehicles in car-share fleets can benefit from fast turnaround times when it comes to thorough repairs and servicing. Gilles Normand, SVP, Vehicles – Mobilize Brand, and Alexandra, ZITY France General Manager, explain the rationale behind offering such services to fleet operators.

10 minutes by foot: that is the maximum viable distance between a car-share vehicle and a service user. To meet such a requirement, more cars are not the answer. Above all, a fleet operator like Zity by Mobilize must succeed in reducing vehicle downtime, whether it be for vehicle recharging, cleaning, maintenance, or repairs. After all, if repair costs accumulate and vehicle turnaround is too slow, fleet management can become a paint point. For operators, time is money!

“Downtime, be it for vehicle maintenance or repairs of a car-share fleet, is a cost factor that can quickly increase exponentially if not kept under control.”

Gilles

SVP Vehicles – Mobilize Brand

A new era for the Flins Re-Factory

As a response to such constraints, Mobilize paired up with ZITY by Mobilize to launch a test run at the Renault Group Re-Factory in Flins. The aim being for a small, dedicated team of experts and professionals to test an optimal repair and maintenance process for car-share fleet vehicles.

In 70 years of existence, the Flins factory has seen numerous iconic models roll out its doors; even today, its assembly lines still produce Renault ZOE and Nissan Micra. Through transforming itself into a Re-Factory, it enters into new era, becoming Europe’s leading circular economy factory dedicated to mobility solutions. Among the four pillars behind the transformation of the factory’s business, the Re-Trofit division deals with extending the life of vehicles and find new uses for them. Covering an area around 8,500 m2, the ‘Factory VO’ used car division, dedicated to reconditioning used vehicles, will soon take in vehicles from fleet operators.

This is where Mobilize is put through its paces in a life-size scenario. Teams work on ZITY by Mobilize vehicles to assess the full range of maintenance processes fleet vehicles are put through in order to optimize every step, from the moment they arrive in the factory to their deep-clean and re-release, not forgetting the all-essential diagnostics, repairs, parts orders, and driving tests.

“For car-share service like ZITY by Mobilize to be effective, it requires a number of measures to ensure that vehicles are serviced, cleaned, and recharged within 10 minutes of each customer.”

Alexandra

General Manager ZITY in France

Welcome among the experts

To ensure quality service, dedicated professionals with a perfect knowledge of the vehicles are responsible for carrying out maintenance on bodywork, paint job touch-up, resticking, and cleaning. Another important advantage is that they have a permanent supply of spare parts.

Professional maintenance

Through working with the Flins’ Re-Factory, ZITY by Mobilize has access to the necessary skills and capabilities to halve the time their vehicles spend off the road – up to 7 days at most.

Drive around town in a trendy city car!

After Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt, and Clichy, ZITY by Mobilize has extended its service area to four more cities in the south-west of Paris: Issy-les-Moulineaux, Meudon, Sèvres, and Vanves. The fleet of car-share vehicles on offer includes Renault ZOE and Dacia Spring, all for the same price.

Dacia Spring, the little newcomer of ZITY by Mobilize fleet

Thanks to the Re-Factory in Flins, Mobilize aims to offer fleet operators with a profitable and frugal business model. Users are guaranteed satisfaction.

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making the switch to an electric vehicle fleet – advice on choosing the right vehicles and charging solutions

Posted on 17 February 202218 June 2024 by Tony Minatchy

Story

making the switch to an electric vehicle fleet – advice on choosing the right vehicles and charging solutions

12.01.2022

connectivity
electric vehicle

There are many reasons why a company might want to introduce greener vehicles into its fleet, including growing environmental awareness, an increasingly complex legal environment and greater numbers of low emission zones1. However, making the change can sometimes seem tricky, as there are many factors to consider when choosing electric vehicle charging solutions. The decision-making process entails understanding how charging networks work, as well as the rules and standards that govern them. It also involves determining an appropriate size for the intended level of use, estimating the number of charging points needed and the capacity thereof, etc. Receiving tailored support from experts is the key to making a successful switch to electric vehicles. Companies big and small need a partner that understands their needs, is flexible and offers bespoke solutions. This report looks at Qualiconsult, a Paris-based company that has successfully incorporated electric vehicles into its fleet in recent months.

If electric vehicles are attracting more and more people, how do companies that decide to make the move for their fleet go about it? Qualiconsult’s story shows that seeking expert support can prove highly beneficial, particularly when it comes to choosing charging solutions. We spoke to Vincent Leroux – who set the wheels of change in motion within this leading French property audit and assessment company – in the car park in front of the headquarters in Paris, where both company vehicles and employees’ own cars could be seen.

“We wanted to reduce our carbon footprint, introduce greener vehicles into our fleet and ensure we would be compliant with the French Mobility Act.”

Vincent

Head of procurement and logistics at Qualiconsult

Teaming up with the right partner

Successfully carrying out such a project was no mean feat considering the company has upwards of 260 branches and 2,500 employees worldwide and must comply with the French Mobility Act,2 which has set a 10% hybrid/electric vehicle quota for companies upgrading their fleet. Qualiconsult needed a partner it could rely on, particularly as it had to determine what would be an appropriate size for a charging network available for employee use and help them get to grips with it. Vincent Leroux explains why he decided to entrust Mobilize Power Solutions with the task of installing the charging infrastructure, a decision made after a great deal of thought and consideration:

“As a Renault Group subsidiary, Mobilize Power Solutions boasts unique expertise – in electric vehicles with Renault, as well as in ecosystem management. It provides companies like ours with ready-to-use solutions. Mobilize Power Solutions’s work meant we were able to begin introducing electric vehicles into our fleet.”

Given that six in every 10 cars sold in Europe are company vehicles, with petrol and diesel vehicles accounting for 96% of new company car registrations in 2019,* charging solutions need to be taken up a notch.

*LeasePlan, 2021

qualiconsult-a-opte-pour-une-electrification-progressive-de-sa-flotte

Qualiconsult decided to gradually introduce electric vehicles into its fleet

Taking a gradual approach before going full steam ahead

Qualiconsult decided to gradually introduce electric vehicles into its fleet of almost 2,000 vehicles. After an initial assessment, 25 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles were added to the fleet – a number that has since grown. This practical approach provided an opportunity to analyse drivers’ use of these vehicles.

“We looked at the profile of employees who travel as part of their role and identified those who would benefit the most from an electric vehicle,” says Vincent Leroux. “Mobilize Power Solutions fully met our needs, both in terms of infrastructure and employee support, implementing bespoke solutions, access cards, interfaces, etc.”

This gradual transformation also provided an opportunity to raise employee awareness and give some of them the chance to use an electric vehicle when travelling as part of their job.

Benefitting both the company and employees

Meanwhile, Qualiconsult wanted to make the company vehicle charging infrastructure available to employees with their own electric vehicle – a move that would be greatly appreciated by employees, as it would mean they could charge their personal vehicle during working hours, cutting the cost of driving to and from work.

A few months down the line and users have been entirely won over by the charging facilities available at their workplace. They just need to hold their access card against the reader to start charging.

“You just need to tap your access card against the reader to start charging. It’s convenient and I’m proud to be playing a part in my company’s environmental transition.”

Philippe Lombardi, Qualiconsult employee

Workplace charging facilities are a major plus

Rolling out straightforward, robust, and reliable charging solutions

Mobilize Power Solutions helped Qualiconsult determine what its needs were by analysing how the company operates and identifying the number of charging points needed, where they would be put, what capacity they should have, what the economic impact would be, etc. Qualiconsult has access to an overview of the entire charging network, which means it can monitor infrastructure usage rates and charging capacity across France. This invaluable tool optimises fleet management, particularly when employees are travelling between branches.

The plan is for Mobilize Power Solutions to install charging infrastructure at all Qualiconsult branches in the near future. This means that employees travelling from the Paris office to Marseille will be able to charge their vehicle at the Valence branch on the way. A system like this will make a big difference to employees, considering public charging infrastructure – particularly fast-charging facilities along motorways – is still sparse in some areas.

les-salaries-en-deplacement-peuvent-se-charger-dans-les-agences-du-groupe

Employees travelling as part of their role can charge their vehicle at other Group branches

Switching to electric company vehicles is key to promoting more widespread use of EVs

Companies may feel that introducing greener vehicles into their fleet is a costly and complex endeavour at first. However, high levels of fleet usage, tax incentives and reliable on-site support must not be overlooked when making long-term decisions. Opting for a gradual roll-out across company sites benefits both companies and employees, as it gives companies the opportunity to develop innovative mobility plans and play an active role in the environmental transition.

“By providing companies with electric vehicle charging solutions, Mobilize Power Solutions is supporting the economy’s energy transition and promoting more widespread use of electric vehicles.”

Nicolas Schottey, CEO of Mobilize Power Solutions

¹ A low emission zone (LEZ) is an area where only the cleanest vehicles are allowed unrestricted entry – the aim being to improve local air quality. A total of 230 European cities had LEZs in place in August 2021.

² The French Mobility Act (loi sur l’orientation des mobilités) aims to fully decarbonise land transport by 2050.

Writer: Valérie Calloc’h

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Stella Vita, a prototype solar-powered house on wheels inspiring Mobilize

Posted on 17 February 20229 July 2024 by Tony Minatchy

Story

Stella Vita, a prototype solar-powered house on wheels inspiring Mobilize

20.10.2021

connectivity
electric vehicle
energy transition

Is using solar energy to power electric cars just a pipe dream, or will it soon be a reality? For Solar Team, a student collective at the Eindhoven University of Technology, that reality is already here – or almost, at least. Proof comes in the form of Stella Vita, a prototype vehicle with photovoltaic panels on its roof that power not only the engine, but also the entire vehicle, turning it into a living space. Stella Vita is essentially a house on wheels – an idea that naturally appeals to Renault Group. That idea piqued the interest of teams at the Mobilize brand, who are constantly looking to all forms of sustainable mobility. An inspiring and creative meeting took place, during which the students were able to present their project and discover some of Renault and Mobilize’s groundbreaking concept and show cars.

On the morning of 24 September, an unusual prototype was seen whizzing around surprising onlookers in the streets of Guyancourt in Greater Paris. Hailing from the Netherlands, the vehicle had just travelled thousands of kilometres throughout Europe before heading to the Renault Technocentre. The futuristic vessel called Stella Vita is designed by Solar Team, a group of 22 students from the Eindhoven University of Technology, and has emerged as a serious opportunity in the development of new forms of sustainable mobility, as it is powered by several power sources, including solar energy. And what better than a road trip through Europe to test the vehicle in real-life conditions? And not just any road trip – a 3,000-km trip from Eindhoven in the Netherlands to Tarifa in Spain, powered solely by solar energy, to prove the project’s viability.

Electric mobility and solar energy, a winning combination

As a pioneer in electric mobility, Renault Group now has a specific brand, Mobilize, focusing on shared, low-carbon transport. The brand was designed to rise to the challenges of our time and is preparing for the future by exploring all kinds of alternative energy, including solar.

Along its European trip, the Solar Team presented their prototype to companies, universities and institutions. The meeting between Mobilize and these students was full of meaning and learning for everyone.
Ultimately, their aim was to inspire as many as possible and demonstrate that we can harness solar energy to build a sustainable future.

“They have explored their concept to its fullest extent. Stella Vita is a kind of mobile home that offers the features of a car – it does it all. For the students, this experience represents a shift from looking at the theory to tangibly using their ideas.”

Patrick Lecharpy

VP Design Mobilize

Stella Vita’s solar panels are located on its roof. When the vehicle is stationary, the total surface of the panels can reach 17.5 m2 – eliminating the need for recharging points and giving drivers the freedom to go wherever they want, without harming the environment. On the road, Stella Vita can reach up to 120 km per hour, due to its aerodynamic design and light weight of 1,700 kilos. And, thanks to its 60 kwh capacity lithium-ion battery, the vehicle’s range can reach 600 km on a full charge – a figure that can even go up to 730 km if the sun shines throughout the journey. However, it takes 2 to 3 days to fully recharge the batteries with the solar panels when the prototype is stopped. That’s why it is also equipped with a plug to recharge it via a classic terminal, which is faster than the solar recharge. The prototype can also be plugged into standard electric charging points, guaranteeing mobility in all weather conditions.

In driving mode, the total surface of the solar panels folded on the roof of Stella Vita is 8,8m2 for more aerodynamics

A voiture à vivre? That sounds familiar…

Solar energy collected by the rooftop panels powers the equipment in this prototype, which also functions as a living space. Renault has a long history with voitures à vivre – it’s not just a former slogan and state of mind symbolising a previous era, but an idea that continues to inspire the brand today. Stella Vita aligns perfectly with this vision and even goes further as a sort of house on wheels. According to the creators, this prototype represents the future of sustainable transportation – a mobile home where users can live and even work while travelling, powered by the energy of the sun.

“We all got together to think about it and realised that we had excess energy remaining from solar panels. We wondered what we could do with it, and came up with a car you can live in.” Lowe Blom, Aerodynamics Engineer Solar Team

When stationary, Stella Vita’s mobile roof rises to create more space inside, while the lateral wings extend, doubling the surface space of the solar panels. Want to watch tv, cook, or take a shower? No problem – the car is kitted out with a kitchen, a bed, a sofa, a shower and a toilet, all of which is powered by solar energy. An infotainment system enables users to visualise their energy consumption in real-time, giving them greater control of how they use it.

The innovation behind Stella Vita has therefore been incorporated in Mobilize’s vision and its research into the development of new, increasingly bold and sustainable mobility solutions.

This original project, which went far beyond its original educational context, is the result of the collective efforts of the students in Solar Team who come from multiple disciplines – such as mechanical and electric engineering, computer science and industrial design. That cross-disciplinary approach left its mark on Laurens Van Den Acker, the head of design for Renault Group, who also studied at Eindhoven University of Technology who had a real interest in meeting the young designers.

From prototype to production model: discovering the Renault and Mobilize concept and show cars

Laurens therefore welcomed the students to the Design studio at the Technocentre, where they could discover concept and show cars by Renault and Mobilize. It was an opportunity for everyone to discuss the future of the project and the hurdles to overcome before turning the prototype into a production model.

The founders of Stella Vita were given valuable advice – for example, learning that when working on a prototype, one of the keys to success is to differ as little as possible between the designed concept and the real vehicle that will later be sold. The students therefore understood that, when looking at the Renault 5 Prototype, that they were looking at something very similar to the future production model that will be sold in 2024. They also learned about the overall transition from design to production series when they looked at the Renault MORPHOZ concept car, the first in a new generation of electric vehicles by Renault, and the Megane eVision show car, which preceded the new Mégane E-TECH Electric, another model they got to see. The students also checked out the 2016 TreZor concept – the perfect illustration of a prototype that became reality, with its reverse L-shaped dashboard display that came ahead of the OpenR screen that can now be found in the new Megane E-TECH Electric.

Solar Team students introduce the Stella Vita prototype to the Design Mobilize team

“Concept cars like TreZor and MORPHOZ portray a dream for the future, but they are also a way of exploring new solutions. We learn a lot from these experiences.”

Laurens Van Den Acker

EVP Corporate Design Renault Group

Patrick Lecharpy, VP Design Mobilize, talked to the Solar Team students about the original aspects of the creative process behind the brand’s vehicles. Teams design the vehicles as a genuine service, using a creative approach that differs from that used by more traditional brands. The designers do not start out by drawing a vehicle; rather, they think about the overall experience of sustainable mobility and services that could assist not only users, but also operators and cities as a whole.

“Current vehicles are not suited to shared mobility. We need to design new, different vehicles that meet emerging uses and needs. In the future, vehicles will become more connected, stronger and sustainable over time.”

Patrick Lecharpy

VP Design Mobilize

Duo and Bento are two concept cars by Mobilize that were presented to the students and represent the brand’s ideas for solutions to help cities in their transition towards sustainability mobility solutions. Duo, a small electric and connected vehicle for shared mobility in urban areas, was even presented using augmented reality so that the students could best discover the range of services it will offer. One of the students in the Solar Team that we spoke to recalled its capacity to provide a genuine solution to the challenges of urban mobility:

“Mobilize Duo is an excellent way of optimising vehicle traffic in urban areas, and it is much more energy efficient than conventional vehicles.”