Mobility News
Mobility expands its electric fleet – and calls for better framework conditions
30.01.2024
Mobility cars are increasingly being powered by electric power. And this in spite of many regulatory and organisational challenges. Now the cooperative is taking the 500th E-vehicle in operation – the red colour has been deliberately dispensed with for once.
Car sharing pioneer Mobility is celebrating a symbolic success on the road to electrifying its own fleet. In the case of Akara Tower in Baden the cooperative has just reached its 500th Electric car. “For us, this is another milestone in the electrification of the offer,” says Thomas Schmid, Head of Market. “Mobility is heavily challenged in this transformation process, and together with the station partners, we are delighted to receive every additional electric car that we can make available to users.”
For once, the VW ID.3 economy car does not come in the typical Mobility red, but with special wrapping in line with the theme of electrification – designed by the artist collective REAL Crew. On the one hand, this is intended to add a splash of colour to Swiss roads, while at the same time serving as a symbol of the mobility revolution.
Far above the Swiss average
Mobility is constantly converting its fleet to electric drives, thereby playing an active role in shaping modern, sustainable mobility. Especially since car sharing in fossil form not only saves space and resources, but also CO2. Around 17% of Mobility’s 3’000 cars are now electric. By way of comparison, in 2023, only 3.3% of all passenger cars on Swiss roads were purely electric vehicles.
Annual e-kilometres have increased tenfold
Initial fears of contact with the electric drive system seem to have been overcome, at least in the case of car sharing. Mobility customers have already covered 13.5 million kilometres in electric vehicles – roughly 35 times the distance to the moon. This shows that the more electric cars are available, the more they are driven. For example, the number of e-kilometres per year has increased tenfold over the past five years. It is also interesting that male users are on average somewhat more electro-savvy than women, although this difference decreases the younger the user group.
Politicians are required when it comes to electrification
E-car sharing is an important means of shaping future mobility in Switzerland in an environmentally, socially responsible and economical way. However, this requires a political and regulatory framework that actively promotes this development. For example, as a tenant of its 3’000 or so car parks, Mobility is dependent on the goodwill of its lessor when it comes to electrification – a nationwide “right to charge,” as is the case in Germany, for example, would have a positive impact on the changeover. It is also important for Mobility to be able to remotely control third-party charging stations and have free access to data. This is the only way the fleet operator can ensure intelligent charging and load management.
“Switzerland still has a lot of homework to do here,” says Krispin Romang from the Swiss eMobility Association. “Until now, there has been neither financial support for charging infrastructure for electric cars nor the 'right to charge’ at the federal level. Given these conditions, Mobility’s pace of transition to electric vehicles is more than impressive.”
Photos: Patrick Besch