Mevo Car Share on track for 50+ EV fleet in Wellington

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Mevo Car Share on track for 50+ EV fleet in Wellington by end of the year.

Mevo, New Zealand's first electric hybrid car-share, has added three additional Audi A3 e-trons to it’s Wellington network.

The three new vehicles will be based at a new pick up zone (Mevo Pod) on Queens Wharf on the Wellington Waterfront.

This expansion signals the beginning of a period of rapid growth for the company thanks to funds secured through the Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund managed by Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

Following the successful launch of Mevo, New Zealand's first electric hybrid car-share in December of 2016, the company is expanding its network of Audi A3 e-trons to six and adding an additional pick-up zone (known as a Mevo Pod) at Queens Wharf thanks to matched funding secured through the Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund managed by Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).

"The launch of this Pod is a direct result of the tremendous interest we've experienced since our launch," said Erik Zydervelt, CEO of Mevo. "This is the first of many Pods which we'll be bringing online across Wellington in the coming months, as we work to keep pace with demand. The unprecedented growth for a car-share in New Zealand is in a large part thanks to the leadership and support shown by both Central Government through the Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund managed by Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and Local Government through Wellington City Council’s Low Carbon Capital Plan and Wellington Waterfront.”

The Pod's location, adjacent to the New Zealand Portrait Gallery on Queens Wharf, was selected by aggregating customer votes via Mevo's location request tool and in conjunction with their renewable energy partner Meridian Energy.

“We’re excited to see the launch of a Mevo pod next door to Meridian,” said Meridian’s Procurement Manager, Nick Robilliard. “For businesses, using a plug-in hybrid car share service such as Mevo is a great alternative to hiring a car or maintaining a permanent fleet vehicle. We’re actively adapting our fleet to take advantage of low-emission modes of transport and we’ve committed to having 50% of our passenger fleet fully electric by mid-2018.”

Mevo's expansion will continue in the coming months, with plans to add additional Mevo vehicles across the Parliament precinct, Bolton Street, Ballance Street, Willeston Street, Victoria Street, Elizabeth Street, opposite Te Papa Tongarewa and others to be confirmed before the end of the calendar year. These additional locations across the heart of Wellington will utilise existing on-street parking owned by Wellington City Council, subject to proposed changes to the Council’s traffic management policies. The proposed changes include the reservation of 37 parking bays for Electric Vehicle charging and Car Sharing.

“With 21 of these parking bays going to Mevo, it goes without saying that we support their success. Mevo is proposing to put down 10 times as many on-street car sharing vehicles as we currently have in Wellington – providing a key opportunity for the Council to understand the car sharing market.” said Councillor Chris Calvi-Freeman, the Council’s Portfolio Lead for Transport Strategy and Operations.

The Queens Wharf location, near the heart of Wellington's Government and Corporate districts, also unlocks the potential for more local businesses to explore Mevo's new fleet offering to supplement or replace their vehicles.

“We're excited to be offering something game changing in the fleet space here in Wellington. In the last five years, we've seen a fundamental shift towards software as a service (SaaS) business solutions; Mevo has applied these same principles and created a truly dynamic Mobility as a service (MaaS) solution" said Phil Burgess, Head of Mobility for Mevo.

About Mevo:
Mevo is New Zealand's first electric car-share, with a mission to deliver mobility on demand by curating a network of hybrid Audi e-trons which members can pick up and drive as they need them. Subscribers can pay a small weekly membership for access to the vehicles and then an hourly rate for the time they spend with the car, or take on a flexible offer with their pay-as-you-go pricing structure.

Globally unique, Mevo is the world's first climate positive car share, using responsible carbon credits to not only sustain but restore the environment they operate in.

Mevo subscribers have their insurance, fuel, maintenance and ongoing costs entirely covered, and are expected to save upwards of $5,000 a year compared to their traditional car owner counterparts. As the Mevo network expands, their members will also be able to access the fleet regardless of the city they're in, a convenience not afforded to traditional car owners when travelling outside their hometown.

The Mevo network Audi A3 Sportback e-trons were hand selected not just for their efficiency, but their uncompromising beauty. Winner of the World Car Of The Year 2014 and a five-star ANCAP safety rating, the experience driving the A3 Sportback e-tron is effortless, deliberate and delightful.

Booking, locking and unlocking a Mevo vehicle while on a trip is all managed by the Mevo app which connects securely to the onboard security system. The Mevo member experience has been designed from the ground up to be "digital first" with no need to collect a key, swipe card or access code before driving away.

The network is made possible through a unique alliance between Mevo, the Wellington City Council, energy partner Meridian, Insurance partner Trade Me Insurance and vehicle partner Audi New Zealand. These partnerships, the first of their kind for a New Zealand car-share, will allow Mevo to grow rapidly across the country.

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