Mobility media releases 2019

As of today, Switzerland's first Mobility Tesla is ready and waiting at Basel railway station. The electrically powered car is part of a project designed to integrate partner company vehicles in the Mobility fleet. The aim is to run a year-long test in collaboration with Revendo to assess whether Tesla models are suitable for car sharing.

For one year now, Mobility has fitted cars belonging to partner companies with car sharing technology. This not only enables the efficient use of existing resources, it also offers the opportunity to expand the network of Mobility stations and make the fleet more diverse. After AGVS (Auto Gewerbe Verband Schweiz) and Emil Frey AG, there is now a new partner on board: Revendo, a Basel-based start-up that reconditions used computers, smartphones and tablets. The company contributes a Tesla, while Mobility fits the car sharing technology and takes care of operation. Mobility Media Officer Patrick Eigenmann welcomes the new partnership: “Our scheme is dedicated to future-oriented, sustainable mobility, so Tesla is a perfect match for us. We hope that as many customers as possible try out the new vehicle.”The Tesla model S 90 D – a five-seater sedan – is located at Basel railway station (Bahnhof Süd car park).

Car sharing suitability – the key focus
In the course of the year-long test, Mobility aims to find out more about its customers’ use patterns. “On the one hand we’re interested in data such as the number of reservations and distances travelled. But we also want to find out whether users think the Tesla is user-friendly enough in terms of day-to-day car sharing,” says Eigenmann. As Eigenmann points out, the Tesla differs from regular cars in that many things are operated from a central touchscreen. “If we believe the Tesla fits the bill in terms of its car sharing suitability, we’ll certainly consider expanding availability.”

Expansion of alternative drive forms
The new vehicle type reflects Mobility’s future orientation. The cooperative just recently announced its intention to expand the number of alternatively powered cars in its fleet to at least 700 by 2023. This is twice as many as the current figure. The main focus here is on electric power and hybrid drive.

Tesla: not available for learners and young drivers
The Mobility Tesla is part of the Premium category, which costs CHF 9.00 per hour and CHF 1.50 per kilometre. Premium is not available to learner drivers and young drivers aged under 25.

By 2023, Mobility will offer at least 700 vehicles with alternative drive systems – that’s twice as many as today. By taking this step, the company is making every effort to fall below the government’s ambitious target CO2 emission levels.

Cars that make it into the Mobility fleet meet stringent criteria, including fulfilling high security and safety standards and being easy to operate and as environmentally friendly as possible. In order to offer a sustainable form of mobility, the Cooperative is voluntarily pursuing the target values set by the government – maximum CO2 emissions of 95 grams per kilometre for new cars. “We’d like to fall below this value with our entire fleet,” explains Mobility Managing Director Roland Lötscher. That is why Mobility is expanding its number of alternative drive systems to at least 700 vehicles by 2023: “We are set to more than double our range of electric and hybrid vehicles. Pure petrol and diesel cars are being phased out in return.” The company is not setting any limits on this – if the framework conditions for electric mobility improve faster than anticipated, it will purchase even more vehicles.

Ambitious aims
The target of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometre that Mobility aspires to achieve is more challenging than it might seem at first. This is because the government set this target value prior to the diesel emissions scandal – in other words, at a time when the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) was in use. This has since been replaced by the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP). WLTP’s emission values are 20% higher on average and thus a great deal more realistic. Mobility welcomes this progress, and in order to achieve its CO2 targets and protect the environment, it has decided to expand its electric and hybrid fleet. Incidentally, if the Mobility fleet were to be judged based on the old NEDC method, it would be producing a mere 76 grams of CO2 per kilometre in 2023.

More electric cars despite tough framework conditions
Mobility already offers 90 electric cars at present. Lötscher firmly believes that “electromobility will develop rapidly. For us, it is an important pillar of the future.” Nevertheless, the agreed increase is not without business risks. “Expensive purchase prices, insufficient charging infrastructure and customer concerns are still making a profitable electric car-sharing scheme difficult.” However, Mobility anticipates that more and more people will take an interest in electric cars, sparking a change in trend.

The Cooperative is also making strides on the hybrid scene, where 120 vehicles are currently available. The alternative Mobility offer is being rounded off with 100 biogas cars which have been in operation as part of a free-floating scheme in Geneva city centre for three years now.

Sharing provider Mobility will be discontinuing its pilot electric scooter scheme on 4 November 2019. The move comes in view of poor profitability prospects, intensified competition and technological challenges. The company nonetheless sees positive aspects.

Approximately one and a half years after its launch, Mobility's pilot scooter scheme in Zurich will come to an end on 4 November. During this period, 200 red electric scooters were available for booking, use and parking in public parking spaces for two-wheel vehicles. “We were able to learn a lot from the experience and we’re certainly satisfied with how actual operations went,” explains Mobility Managing Director Roland Lötscher. “Users have seen the advantages of our free-floating system, and the scooters integrated smoothly into city traffic.” This is shown by the fact that one in two scooter trips were taken in combination with public transport, says Lötscher. What is more, the scooters were well distributed throughout the city area, so it was very seldom necessary to relocate them.

Discontinuation due to several factors
While numerous customers initially signed up for the scheme, numbers recently stagnated more and more (7’500). This is mainly because younger age groups are not automatically permitted to ride a scooter when they pass their driving test. “We certainly underestimated this factor,” says Lötscher. In addition, the competitive situation in Zurich has intensified, new vehicle levies have been imposed in the city and challenges have arisen on the technological side. In particular, interaction between various hardware/software components such as on-board computers and top cases proved to be error-prone and cost-intensive. Lötscher concludes: “Major investments would have been required, so profitable operation would have been a distant prospect.” This is ultimately why Mobility decided to discontinue the service. “We very much regret having to take this step. But we’re still on the ball: if we see the chance of offering another two-wheeler service on a sustainable basis in the future, we’ll certainly take the opportunity to do so.”

Having recently been acquired by Mobility, Catch a Car will now be relaunched in July 2019 under the name Mobility Go with a fresh look for the future.

Free-floating car sharing enables users to locate and book a vehicle in real time, then leave it conveniently in a public parking space within a defined zone when the period of use is finished. Mobility strongly believes in the success of this model: "It’s flexible and very much captures the spirit of the times, appealing particularly to the younger generation," says Mobility Communication Officer Patrick Eigenmann. This is why Mobility not only operates 200 electrically powered scooters in Zurich but also fully acquired the Basel and Geneva-based free-floating provider Catch a Car at the beginning of the year

14'000 Catch a Car customers now have access to the world of Mobility
The free-floating car sharing scheme is now being renamed Mobility Go. "In combination with classic car sharing, this means that customers now have the complete range of mobility options at their disposal on a round-the-clock basis – without a car of their own," explains Eigenmann. During the course of July, the former Catch a Car service will become available to all Mobility customers. By the same token, the existing 14'000 Catch a Car users will benefit from the full range of Mobility services. The Go cars in Geneva will appear in their new red and white colours in July; the change in appearance will not be seen in Basel until October.

Rates remain the same
The existing trip rates will stay the same for Click & Drive customers: CHF 0.49 per minute, CHF 25 per hour and CHF 125 per day. Subscription holders and cooperative members benefit from a reduced minute rate (CHF 0.45).

Mobility and Emil Frey AG join forces: from now on car sharers can enjoy driving luxury Land Rover and Jaguar models. The aim is to attract even more Swiss people to take up the car sharing habit.

Mobility has recently started installing car-sharing technology in dealership vehicles. In this way, the company is not only making efficient use of its resources, it is also able to reach out to new locations throughout the whole of Switzerland. In return participating dealerships receive a fair portion of the drive volume and gain experience of the sharing economy, with its enormous promise for the future.

Exclusive vehicles due to collaboration with Emil Frey
After "Auto Gewerbe Verband Schweiz", another commercial partner has now signed up for Mobility’s one-year trial: Emil Frey AG – with brands that are bound to thrill customers: Land Rover and Jaguar models promise luxurious driving pleasure. From now on there are nine vehicles available at five stations. If the response is positive, both the number of vehicles and the range of brands will be expanded on completion of the trial phase.

• Bern, 2 vehicles (Jaguar F-Pace/Jaguar XF), station: Bern railway station
• Ebikon, 2 vehicles (Land Rover Discovery Sport/Jaguar XF), station: Emil Frey AG
• Lucerne, 1 vehicle (Jaguar XE), station: Lucerne railway station
• St. Gallen, 2 vehicles (Land Rover Velar/Jaguar XF), station: St. Gallen railway station
• Zurich-Altstetten, 2 vehicles (Land Rover Discovery Sport/Jaguar XE), station: Emil Frey AG car dealership

Mobility follows market trends
The figures show that one in three cars sold in Switzerland today is an SUV. As Mobility Managing Director Roland Lötscher says: "For us it's important to offer a wide range of attractive vehicles. We can only persuade as many people as possible to share their first or second car instead of owning it if we’re able to follow trends and satisfy a range of different various tastes." Mobility’s great leverage in terms of sustainability is people’s willingness to do without a privately owned car. Studies show that one Mobility vehicle replaces ten privately owned cars. "That’s why I’m so pleased we’re able to offer premium models. They make Mobility that much more attractive," says Lötscher.

CHF 9.00 per hour and CHF 1.50 per kilometre
Mobility has created a new "Premium" category especially to accommodate the new cars. The vehicles cost CHF 9.00 per hour and CHF 1.50 per kilometre – so they are cheaper than with a regular car rental company. What is more, Mobility’s Best Price scheme means there is a cap of CHF 300 on trips of up to 24 hours and 200 kilometres for cooperative members (or CHF 310 for subscription holders). The Premium category is not available to learner drivers and young drivers aged under 25.

Travel from place to place – and simply leave the car where it is: now possible between 29 Mobility stations throughout all of Switzerland, now including Aarau, Baden, Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, Fribourg, Biel and multiple stations in Zurich.

Mobility is continually expanding its variety of services. One solution particularly popular with almost 200’000 customers is Mobility One-Way: it allows for one-way journeys between all manner of different towns and cities throughout Switzerland. Mobility has now correspondingly increased the number of stations to around 30. Mobility Communication Officer Patrick Eigenmann is delighted about the development: "The expansion means that even more people will be able to travel easily and conveniently from A to B in the future. For our customers, One-Way is the ideal supplement to the standard Mobility offer and to our urban free-floating models such as Mobility Scooter. A subscription gives you a wide variety of mobility options at your disposal."

From A for Aarau to Z for Zurich
From today onwards, the following stations are now part of the Mobility One-Way network: Aarau Railway Station, Baden Brown Boveri Platz, Biel Railway Station, Fribourg Railway Station, Écublens EPFL/Parking Rivier, Geneva Cornavin Railway Station, Lausanne Railway Station, Neuchâtel Railway Station, Nyon Railway Station, Rapperswil-Jona Railway Station, Uster Railway Station, Yverdon Railway Station, Zurich Hardbrücke Railway Station, Zurich Tiefenbrunnen Railway Station and Zurich Wollishofen Railway Station. They are supplementing the existing station network comprising: Basel Railway Station, Basel Airport, Bern Railway Station, Lucerne Railway Station, Olten Railway Station, Rotkreuz Suurstoffi, Solothurn Railway Station, St. Gallen Railway Station, Sursee Railway Station, Winterthur Railway Station, Zug Railway Station, Zurich Altstetten Railway Station, Zurich Airport and Zurich Main Station. “Our goal is to be able to integrate Geneva Airport soon too,” Eigenmann explains: "Then we would be ideally positioned throughout Switzerland."

Fair prices
The 30 One-Way vehicles are particularly suited to shorter trips, travelling to Basel or Zurich airports or for journeys at times with limited public transport. The kilometre and hourly rates are billed at the same prices as the rest of the Mobility offer (combi category: CHF 0.80/km, CHF 3/h), plus a surcharge of between CHF 7 and CHF 29. This surcharge varies according to route length, season and load. 

Last year, Mobility increased its sales by 2.7% to CHF 78.3 million – despite a growing variety of services on offer in the Swiss sharing market. Today, almost 200'000 customers rely on the services of the sharing company that always has new innovations in store.

Mobility’s growth trajectory is soaring skyward: the cooperative has 3'090 vehicles throughout Switzerland (+160 on the prior year), including 200 electric scooters in the city of Zurich. These vehicles are used by 197'800 customers (+20'700). This leap can be partially accounted for by the large number of new customers, as well as by subscription customers who can use the Click & Drive occasional subscription once they have become a member. All in all, the sharing company’s sales increased by 2.7% to CHF 78.3 million. Roland Lötscher, Managing Director of the Mobility Cooperative since the start of the year, is extremely satisfied: "More and more providers are crowding onto the sharing market with new service models, especially in big cities. But Mobility’s excellent customer satisfaction shows that, with our product portfolio and high standards of quality, we are in a very good position and can continue to grow."

Significant investment in service range
Mobility’s stated aim is to offer users all manner of different mobility options from a single source. The company is therefore in an investment phase spanning several years, during which it will develop, digitalise and combine new mobility models. For example, Mobility Scooter and Mobility Carpool were launched in the reporting year in addition to upgrading models that are linked to or independent of stations (Mobility Return, Mobility One-Way, Catch a Car). This incurred various additional costs, which resulted in a profit of CHF 781'000 (prior year: CHF 2.04 million). Roland Lötscher explains: "As a cooperative, we have a long-term perspective and are not under pressure to act quickly and maximise profit. This enables us to focus on building the mobility of the future."

Mobility is acquiring all of the shares in Catch a Car AG and will incorporate the mobility model into its offer before the end of 2019. Customers in Basel and Geneva can thus continue to use free-floating car sharing.

Mobility, AMAG and Allianz have decided to fully integrate Catch a Car into Mobility’s portfolio of solutions. As a result, Mobility is buying back all the shares of its project partners and is acquiring customers, employees, vehicles, rights and permits from Catch a Car. Mobility is retaining AMAG as its vehicle supplier and Allianz as its insurance partner. The project partners have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Greater potential in the Mobility universe
The number of Catch a Car customers and its drive volume are constantly on the rise. That is why Roland Lötscher, Managing Director of Mobility, is upbeat about the future: “By integrating the model into our broad range of mobility options and making it accessible to all Mobility users, it will become even stronger. Customer potential is increasing many times over and we can exploit synergies.” The integration makes similar sense from an economic perspective, he adds. “As a stand-alone solution, free-floating cars weren't profitable enough. In the Mobility universe, we’ll reach our goals faster.” The step is also logical from a strategic point of view – Mobility is currently transforming into a full-service mobility provider. Thus, users now have all manner of different options at their fingertips, including the classic car-sharing scheme, free-floating scooters, carpooling and one-way journeys from one place to another. “The acquisition of Catch a Car adds another attractive option, making us the most diverse mobility sharing provider in the world,” says a delighted Lötscher.

Offer continues as normal in Basel and Geneva
In Basel and Geneva, where Catch a Car currently operates, it will still be possible to drive from A to B and park your car in public car parks. The only difference is that this will now be a Mobility service in the future. The cooperative will set a date for the switchover in the near future.