Mevo cofounders Phil Burgess (left), Erik Zydervelt and Finn Lawrence with some models in their carshare lineup: the Volkswagon Polo, the Polestar 2 EV and the Kia Stonic. Photo / File
Mevo cofounders Phil Burgess (left), Erik Zydervelt and Finn Lawrence with some models in their carshare lineup: the Volkswagon Polo, the Polestar 2 EV and the Kia Stonic. Photo / File
Mevo is officially launching its car-share service in Auckland today - with a key twist over the highest-profile incumbent, Cityhop: one-way car sharing.
Instead of dropping your car off in the same carpark space you collected it from, you can, for example, unlock a car in the CBD then leaveit at the airport (a model also operated by the smaller Zilch, which has already soft-launched in the city; more on which below).
Mevo's launch is underpinned by two developments: One, Auckland Transport made a regulatory change - over Cityhop's objections - to allow for one-way car-share trips (that key moment actually occurred back in December 2019, but the pandemic would subsequently cause a big pause).
One of the new Tesla Model 3s. One is being tested this week. More will arrive over the coming months. Photo / Supplied
The second is EECA funding for Mevo that the car-share firm has put toward 120 electric vehicles, including a swag of Tesla Model 3s and the new Polestar 2, made by Volvo spin-out Polestar and just released in NZ by Giltrap (see Driven's review here).
Mevo also has petrol cars in its lineup, with a focus on low-emission models.
After registration, which now includes a Vaccine Pass check along with driver's licence validation, hiring a Mevo vehicle is something akin to hiring an e-scooter. Its cars cost from 60c per minute or from $15 an hour or $75 per day (that is, a bit more expensive than Cityhop, which starts at $11/hour for an older hatch). The price includes a 120 per cent carbon offset.
An app is used to reserve, locate and unlock a car, which can then be left at any designated space within in Mevo's central Auckland "Flex" zone, which spans Freeman's Bay, the CBD and Ponsonby, or driven one-way to the airport (or vice-versa.).
There will be a mixed fleet of Volkswagen Polo and Kia Stonic cars at launch, with Tesla Model 3 and Polestar 2 EVs being added to the mix in the weeks and months ahead as shipments arrive.
Mevo has also recently launched a virtual fleet programme, designed as an alternative for organisations that run a pool car system. Its $800 plan offers eight days per month access to a Tesla Model 3; it's $950/month plan 20 days' access to a Model 3 during business hours.
Mevo vehicles can be picked up and dropped off anywhere within its "Flex" zones in the central city (above) and airport. Parnell and Newmarket zones are being added later this year.
Mevo launched in Wellington in 2015, then expanded into Hamilton last year via a deal that saw it buy Waikato car-share outfit Loop from Ebbett Group.
Co-founder and CEO Erik Zydervelt says the Auckland launch will be followed by a push across the Tasman. The US is also on his radar. Zydervelt notes that the only nationwide US car-share operator, car2go, withdrew to Europe as the pandemic hit. Meanwhile, Lime's car-share trial, LimePod, failed to expand beyond its Seattle pilot.
Currently, Z Energy is Mevo's largest single investor (in a similar annual report photo-op-friendly fashion that Genesis Energy is now the major backer of Christchurch-founded Zilch, which now has a presence in Auckland too, offering vehicles for $16 per hour, or $26 for a one-way hire from the CBD to the airport).
But Mevo will seek to get institutional investors on board as it seeks to raise around $10 million to fund its offshore push, Zydervelt says.
The founder won't disclose any financials for the privately-held firm, but says it now has just under 15,000 customers.
While some people might not be inclined to share anything amid the pandemic, Zydervelt says driving a car-share vehicle from the CBD to the airport involves less contact than taking a rideshare, taxi or a bus. On the latter front, options are crimped in any case, given SkyBus's service is currently on an indefinite suspension.
Disinfectant wipes and ultraviolet sterilisation are part of Mevo's anti-Covid measures.
With MIQ restrictions set to ease, Zydervelt is now planning a fact-finding jaunt to the US as part of the early groundwork for Mevo's possible launch into that market.
Immediate expansion will be closer to home, however, with Flex zones set to launch in Parnell and Newmarket later this year.
