On the occasion of the China Shared Mobility Summit, Vulog announces its entry in the Chinese market. As China has committed to reducing pollution and has announced its intention of becoming a leader in electric vehicles and shared mobility, entering this market is the natural next step for Vulog, who can share its worldwide expertise with Chinese carsharing operators. The value Vulog can bring to the Chinese market has already resulted in a first contract signed with a Chinese automobile manufacturer. To meet the demand of this project and other planned developments, the company is also opening an office in Shanghai at the end of this year.
Vulog, which has developed a shared mobility platform that powers services on five different continents, partners with automobile manufacturers, car rental companies, start-ups, insurance providers, and others to launch large scale innovative shared mobility services. The technology company, known for its free-floating solution, provides a white-label app, back end management tools, individualized business intelligence insights, in-car technology and more for shared mobility operators. With offices already in Paris, Vancouver, and Nice, Vulog closed a $20M fundraising in August 2017, and simultaneously announced the opening of its first US office in San Francisco.
In its China office, located in Shanghai, Vulog will have a dedicated Business Development team and a technical team to deploy and support projects for its Chinese clients, both of which work in close collaboration with its teams in Europe and North America.
Known for its strong global presence in bikesharing, China is taking large strides in the carsharing market. To combat increasingly problematic pollution, China is striving to lead the renewable energy revolution, with already more than 40 percent investment in electric vehicles. As this shift to electric vehicles and sustainable development takes shape, China is looking for innovative shared mobility solutions. Carsharing, in addition to bikesharing and scooter sharing, is the logical next step: a recent census concluded that the country has 300 million licensed drivers, and currently 100 million private cars.
Vulog’s first client in the market, a Chinese automobile manufacturer, plans to launch its first project in 2018. “We have received great feedback from Chinese mobility operators,” says Vulog CEO Gregory Ducongé. “While there are already a handful of local actors in the market, Vulog was chosen to power this mobility service because of our international experience. In addition, we can provide best practices based on our learnings from clients around the world, in order to make their carsharing services profitable and scalable.”
