Mevo is going places – fast

This story first appeared in the January issue of EVtalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE

Strong growth in climate-positive car-share company Mevo during the past year looks set to continue.

Mevo chief executive officer and co-founder Erik Zydervelt says 2019 will be “a big year for us” with the Auckland roll-out and more.

He expects the trends of the past year to continue, where Wellington-based Mevo saw expansion of its plug-in hybrid Audi A3 fleet to meet an increase in overall monthly trips (150%) and a growth in monthly new memberships (120%).

“There’s still lots of work to do, but it’s looking very positive,” Zydervelt says of 2019.

The free-floating car share scheme has enabled customer businesses to heavily reduce their business spend and their fleets.

“On top of that we’ve helped them meet their sustainability goals because we’re offsetting carbon emissions at 120% with certified carbon credits.”

“Sustainability” will be a key word in the coming year as more businesses react to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report warning that the world has just 12 years to limit climate change catastrophe, Zydervelt believes.

“We are helping businesses reduce one of their biggest emission areas – transport,” he says.

“Members driving every kilometre in our cars are leaving the climate better than when they started.”

Zydervelt reckons Mevo’s fleet has now driven more than the equivalent of three times around the world.

That will increase substantially as Mevo expands throughout New Zealand and into other countries like Australia.

“We’re excited about the number of electric vehicles coming on line in the next couple of years,” he says.

“We look forward to going totally electric as soon as we can, while still offering accessibility to shared vehicles for all.”

Many big organisations are coming to understand what the car-share company does and the benefits it brings for staff and the environment, Zydervelt says.

“They’re starting to ramp up Mevo use a lot, so it will be a matter of keeping up.”

Mevo customers pay only for the time they use a car, with the company covering the costs and headaches of owning one.

Cars, particularly new EVs, are expensive to buy and often sit idle much of the time under the traditional ownership model.

Zydervelt says Mevo will continue refining its processes to deliver the best service possible.

The past year’s progress illustrates the hard work the Mevo team and board has put in, he says.

“And it shows we have the product right.”
Zydervelt says the aim remains to have Mevo in five major cities in New Zealand and Australia during the next five years with more than 2000 cars.

The free-floating scheme ensures members can be picked up and dropped off without having to worry about parking and associated fees, with thousands of parks in Wellington (including the airport) able to be used by Mevo at any time.

“I feel we’re close to a tipping point where friends of friends of people that know us are starting to sell their ICE vehicles and choosing to use our new PHEVs,” Zydervelt says.

“Change is getting faster, and a lot of the hard work firms like us put in over the past two years is starting to bear fruit.”
Maryon Wils has recently been appointed corporate partnerships head with Mevo expanding its business travel division.

The car-share has signed more than 30 companies and government agencies to support business travel for their employees.

Some of these include Meridian Energy, Consumer NZ, and Z Energy.

Consumer NZ has brought Mevo on for its 30 full-time Wellington staff.

“After moving our office to the middle of town recently, we made the decision to axe our company vehicle in favour of Mevo, which made more sense logistically and financially,” Consumer NZ testing head Paul Smith says.

For Z Energy, the car-share fits well with the company’s sustainability ethos.

“We’ve been a huge supporter of Mevo from the start, but the best endorsement always comes from using and appreciating the product itself,” Z Energy chief executive officer Mike Bennetts says.