New Renault Zoe to pioneer innovative car sharing technology

Car sharing software is being fitted as standard to the next Renault Zoe in a further step towards a future of pooled electric car ownership – but also in a move to help car makers to reduce fines in 2020 if they overstep fleet CO2 average figures. 

The car sharing software is supplied by French company Vulog, whose AiMA (Artificial Intelligence Mobility Applied) platform is used by 25 car sharing schemes on a fleet of 11,000 cars on five continents. It integrates multiple functions involved in car sharing – such as finding an available car online or through an app and unlocking it with a mobile device, plus monitoring charging and invoicing to streamline the management of the car fleet. 

“This partnership with Vulog will facilitate the launch of car sharing services for mobility operators around the world,” said Corinne Pakey, Renault’s mobility business manager. 

Renault already has 6100 electric vehicles across Europe in car sharing programmes and the agreement with Vulog is expected to add a further 2500 in north Europe, South America and the UAE. Renault is also a partner in the Marcel electric car ride-hailing service in Paris. 

As well as pushing electric cars towards urban mobility improvements, Vulog believes that fleets of shared electric cars could save many manufacturers from the fines that the EU will levy from 2020 on car makers that miss their fleet CO2 average figure. 

For every gram above their CO2 emission limit, car makers will have to pay £83 for each car registered. According to a report by PA Consulting, nine of the 13 main car-making groups in Europe could have to pay out – ranging from Mazda’s relatively modest £65 million to Volkswagen’s eye-watering £1.22 billion. 

Total industry fines might reach an astonishing £12.2bn, according to industry analysts IHS Markit. 

This explains why Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) recently paired up with Tesla to pay the US EV maker to pool fleets for CO2 calculation purposes. FCA faces going 6.7g/km over its 91.8g/km target, equal to a £612m fine.