UK car share pioneer joins with European mobility firm & MG

The UK’s leading independent car share operator – Co-wheels Car Club – announced today (Wednesday, April 10, 2019) it has become part of the Oply car sharing network which is rapidly expanding across Europe.

Co-wheels is now part of Oply UK Limited, a new joint venture with investment from ExaMotive SA, a leading European mobility provider, and SAIC Motor, owners of the iconic British motoring brand MG.

Co-wheels currently operates car sharing in more than 40 towns and cities across the UK to enable people to benefit from socially inclusive, affordable and low emission car hire by the hour as a practical alternative to private car ownership. It also delivers fleet management to major corporate and public sector organisations to improve fleet utilisation and efficiency, reducing costs associated with ‘grey fleet’ mileage.

The new investment comes from:
• Luxembourg based ExaMotive, a leading European provider of innovative, on-demand mobility solutions for the modern world. It also operates the Oply carshare network currently serving multiple German cities and soon to be rolled out across Europe.
• SAIC Europe and MG UK, subsidiaries of SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, which is the largest car maker in China and owns the iconic brand MG & MAXUS. It is a leading player in promoting innovative transformation through vehicle electrification, intelligence & connectivity and shared mobility.

It will allow rapid expansion of the fleet in both new and existing locations as well as resources to improve services and offer a wider range of mobility solutions in future.

Under the deal Directors Richard Falconer and Paul Balmont will continue to lead the Co-wheels operation and spearhead accelerated growth and service improvements. Paul said: “Mobility is developing at a rapid pace and we are determined to ensure Co-wheels is at the forefront, whilst ensuring our members continue to be offered the best user experience.

“For some time we have been searching for partners who could help us achieve this vision at a pace faster than would be possible on our own and we are delighted to become a part of the Oply network and be working with partners who share our ideals and vision.“

ExaMotive CEO Mauro Mariani, said: “The UK is an important and growing market for car sharing and we are excited to be investing in Co-wheels as there is real potential to do so much more together.

“The directors and their team have done a great job in getting the company to where it is today and this deal can be a real springboard for a period of accelerated growth and enhancements in the ‘on demand’ mobility offering.

“We will support the team in this next exciting phase and make available to them a deep pool of mobility expertise and developments that we believe will further improve the user experience for Co-wheels members.

“Car sharing is an integral part of modern mobility for both businesses and individuals which is gathering tremendous momentum around the world. The future is very exciting, we are delighted to have Co-wheels become a part of our network of mobility solution providers.“

SAIC Europe Vice President Jerry Hong said: “Investment in both ExaMotive and Co-wheels is an important milestone to build-up our partnership with a shared mobility player. The user focused solutions of Oply and Co-wheels will help us as an OEM better understand customer needs and preferences towards mobility services and technology.

“Both ExaMotive and Co-wheels have achieved outstanding performance and growth in their history. By combining the resources, experience and technology of ExaMotive and Co-wheels, we believe it will further enhance their market position and competitiveness to become a major player in the car sharing market.

“We expect our new MG full electric products will be part of ExaMotive and Co-wheels’ fleets and will be well accepted by customers in the near future.”

END

Contact – for further details or interview contact Robert Schopen, Co-wheels Communications Manager, Robert.schopen@co-wheels.org.uk telephone 07540 698432

Co-wheels photo library|http://www.co-wheels.org.uk/media

Oply Press Centre|https://www.oply.com/presse/

Note to Editors:

• ExaMotive SA is a well funded, European mobility organisation based in Luxembourg, which operates the Oply carshare network in German cities including Berlin, Munich and Hamburg and is being rolled out across Europe.

• SAIC Motor Corporation Limited is the largest auto company in China, producing more than 7 million vehicles a year and jumped to 36th in the 2018 Fortune Global 500 companies list with consolidated sales revenue of USD 128.82 billion. It also ranks 7th in the global automobile category on the list. As a pioneer in automotive forward-looking technology, SAIC Motor Corporation Limited is constantly innovating and striving to promote transformation through vehicle electrification, intelligence & connectivity and shared mobility.

• SAIC Europe, is headquarters for the continental European market and the strategic investor in Exmotive SA. A fully electric MG will be launched in selected continental markets later this year.

• MG Motor UK, is the British arm of SAIC Motor, which has sales, design and technical centres in both Birmingham and London. A fully electric MG will be launched in the UK later this year.

• Co-wheels Car Club started in the North East about 10 years ago with just two cars, but has expanded to a fleet of 600 cars across the UK. A social enterprise, It has pioneered environment friendly and zero emission transport and was the first car club in the UK to introduce electric vehicles and is the only UK club with Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles on its fleet. As well as public car sharing, it also provides fleets for organisations to save money and CO2 emission on staff travel, including many local councils, NHS trusts, universities and Housing Associations.