10 percent of Mobility cars now electric

Mobility Cooperative is celebrating an important milestone this week. In Thun, at the Bahnhof/Parkhaus City Süd station, its 300th electric car, complete with charging point, was brought into service. With this, one in ten of the car sharing company’s vehicles now run purely on electricity. This number is only set to increase; Mobility is aiming to power its entire fleet of cars - currently 3000-strong - with electricity by 2030. In doing so, the cooperative will be able to fulfil its company purpose with regard to sustainability as set out in its Articles of Association. As Head of Network Thomas Schmid, explains, the electric cars are being very well received by customers: “Our customers have discarded their initial reservations. At practically all stations where electric as well as fossil fuel powered vehicles are located, the electric vehicles are used far more frequently”.

Rented parking spaces pose a challenge

For Mobility, the transition to all electric vehicles is not without its challenges. Its parking spaces, roughly 3000 across Switzerland, are rented, meaning it will take many conversations and negotiations before power connections can be installed at every location. Mobility supplies the charging points for such operations. For locations at which it is technically impossible to supply electricity to the parking space, alternative locations will be sourced. Roland Lötscher, CEO of Mobility, says: “We feel that all our partners are motivated to contribute to the transition to sustainable, electric power. For this reason, I am confident that we will reach our target”. According to Lötscher, the next few years will require a considerable push from all sides. “Those in government are also responsible; they need to ensure the necessary frameworks are in place”.

Market opportunity for grid-serving charging

As part of its electrification mission, Mobility is currently taking part in the recently launched pilot project V2X Suisse and testing the potential for bidirectional charging. The experiment involves 50 cars that are not only able to run from electricity, but also feed it back into the grid. These power banks on wheels could also allow electricity providers to balance out network fluctuations and mitigate shortages in the future. It is likely the first time that a test of vehicle-to-grid charging has spanned an entire country. For Mobility, the trial will reveal whether the company is able to share energy as well as cars in the future. The results are expected over the course of next year.


Contact:
Sybille Theiler
Deputy Media Spokesperson
041 248 25 93
presse@mobility.ch

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