British Go Ahead buys into German EV-sharing Mobileeee
In the UK, Go Ahead is known as electric bus operator but on the continent, the company wants to enter the electric car sharing business. First in Frankfurt where Go Ahead has acquired a 10% stake in local EV sharer Mobileeee.
Its share has cost Go Ahead no more than 300,000 euros. Together with Mobileeee, Go Ahead said it wants to “forge environmentally friendly car sharing schemes” in Germany that include booking services as well as charging infrastructure. Until now, the company had concentrated on buses, particularly electric ones such as the new fleet in London.
David Brown, CEO of the company, which operates 5,200 buses throughout the UK and Singapore, believes “car-sharing can play a cohesive new role alongside buses and trains as the transport services of the future, and we are delighted to support this innovative new business.”
Frankfurt-based Mobileeee carries the four ‘e’s in its name standing for “easy, efficient, emissions-free experience”. Members can hire electric cars for an hourly or daily rate of 6 or 24 euros respectively.
EV sharing is quickly becoming a rush for carmakers seeing it as a possibility to showcase their technology at a low price point. BMW and Mercedes have been rumoured to merge their DriveNow and Car2Go offerings for example. On a smaller scale, Skoda just bought its way into Spain’s ride sharing market by acquiring Respiro (we reported). Over in China, Didi Chuxing has recently gathered 12 major carmakers, including local partners of Nissan and Ford, as strategic partners for its electric car sharing platform.
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