Europcar Mobility Group is one of the first international vehicle rental companies to offer electric vehicles to its customers, starting in 2011. In 2019, Europcar Mobility Group launched its “One Sustainable Fleet” programme, to reach more than 1/3 of “green” vehicles (electric, plug-in hybrids and hybrids) in its fleet by the end of 2023.
This programme is in line with the Group’s purpose: to offer attractive alternative solutions to vehicle ownership, in a responsible and sustainable manner. It is also one of the key “building blocks” of the CONNECT transformation plan, which aims to make the Group a major player in sustainable mobility, while strengthening its position as European No. 1 vehicle rental company.
The current crisis related to the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced pre-existing needs and expectations in terms of mobility: increased digital consumption habits and need for “contactless” services, new standards of security and flexibility, as well as an aspiration for more responsible and environmental-friendly modes of travel. In this context, Europcar Mobility Group is actively pursuing the deployment of its “One Sustainable Fleet” programme, willing to favour the deployment of virtuous mobility solutions in cities and territories through “shared mobility” (car hire and car sharing), and to be able to support the transition of both individuals and companies towards “green” mobility, wherever the Group is present.
This programme includes several streams: close collaboration with car manufacturers to grow the share of “green” vehicles within the Group’s fleet, customer education, training of Group employees, launch of attractive offers to develop customer appetite for “green” vehicles, etc. One of the key success factors for the programme is, of course, the ability to develop an ecosystem of charging solutions that are easy to use and accessible via a dense network. With this in mind, Europcar Mobility Group has just signed a partnership for the charging of its electric vehicles with NewMotion, one of the leading European smart charging providers.
With the signing of this partnership, the “One Sustainable Fleet” programme takes an important step forward.
NewMotion will provide Europcar Mobility Group with a complete ecosystem of solutions for the charging infrastructure: easy-to-use, smart charge points, as well as an access to the Business Hub platform that allows to monitor, manage and control the entire charging infrastructure. In addition, with NewMotion, customers renting an electric vehicle in one of the Europcar Mobility Group’s stations will receive a charge card, allowing an access the largest public roaming network for on-the-go charging in Europe (with more than 170,000 charge points).
The partnership is to be rolled out gradually from January 2021.
Olivier Baldassari, Group Chief Countries and Operations Officer, Europcar Mobility Group, comments:
“We are pleased to sign this partnership with NewMotion today, as part of the implementation of our “One Sustainable Fleet” programme. As a major mobility player, we are determined to contribute to the necessary transition to a “low carbon” world, and committed to take steps forward despite the COVID-19 crisis: we even see this crisis as an opportunity to accelerate projects and plans that have already been started.
With a fleet of more than 300,000 vehicles on average, our ability to make an impact is significant. Our commitment to reducing the level of carbon emissions involves increasing the proportion of “green” vehicles in our fleet and supporting our customers in their usages. Vehicle rental is an excellent vector of promotion and development for the use of electric vehicles, particularly in urban environments!
With this comprehensive approach, we want our Group to be among the European champions of sustainable mobility in the years to come”
