Twice as many cars with alternative power:

Hundreds of new alternative-power vehicles will be acquired by the car-sharing company Mobility in the next few years. But one serious problem remains: where to recharge them all?

‘Buying is silver, renting is gold’. With this concept, Mobility is working to become the largest national provider of individual mobility services. Even today, each shared car replaces up to ten private vehicles, says managing director Roland Lötscher. There will even be more in the future.

But it’s not only Swiss roads that the car-sharing provider want to relieve with its fleet of currently about 3,100 cars, but also the environment. That's why Mobility, with offices in Rotkreuz, has decided to massively expand its share of electric and hybrid vehicles. By 2023, the Mobility wants its fleet to include at least 700 cars with alternative drive. That would be more than twice as many as today.

Mobility currently offers 90 electric, 120 hybrid and 100 biogas vehicles in Switzerland. The biogas vehicles have been in use for three years in the so-called Free-Floating Principle in the city of Geneva; In other words, you can return a borrowed biogas car to any location, and it will be refuelled by Mobility employees. Even though this concept works well in Geneva, the nationwide expansion will be primarily based on electric and hybrid technology, says Patrick Eigenmann, communication manager at Mobility.

"Many people still have some reservations about biogas, especially regarding the refuelling process. From our own experience, the technology is only partially suitable for self-service car sharing," says Eigenmann. The situation is different with the electric and hybrid drives. "Electromobility is currently on everyone's lips, and is developing rapidly. The general willingness to switch to an e-car is increasing. The demand for such offers from Mobility customers is correspondingly increasing.”

                                There are not enough charging stations yet

Mobility mentions not only rising demand as a reason for the expansion of the electric and hybrid fleet, but, above all, the new CO₂ emission regulations of the federal government. From the beginning of the coming year, for example, new passenger cars in Switzerland will have a target of 95 grams of CO₂ per kilometre, as in the EU. If an importer falls below this threshold, a penalty will be payable.

By comparison, the average emissions of new passenger cars in this country last year were 137.8 grams of CO₂ per kilometre, i.e. more than 40 grams above the new guideline, according to the Federal Office for Energy. Achieve, let alone undercutting this will require special efforts from all sides, adds Eigenmann

To make matters worse, the 95 grams of CO2 per kilometre were defined before the diesel scandal, i.e. using the old NEDC measurement method ("New European Driving Cycle"). This has now been replaced by the WLTP method ("Worldwide harmonised light vehicle test procedure"), which is based on real-life situations instead if theoretical ones, and thereby indicates exhaust emissions about 20% higher on average, and thereby more realistically. "We welcome this progress," says Eigenmann, "but, for us, it means we have to do something if we want to undercut the new CO₂ guidelines in the future. That is why Mobility has decided in favour of expanding the number of the electrical and hybrid vehicles”.

The new acquisitions by Mobility will start with tried and tested models. With regard to electric drives, this is primarily the Renault Zoe and the hybrid models of the market leader Toyota. "We have had very positive experiences with both of them so far," says Eigenmann, "but we are observing the market closely, and do not excluding changes."

Could Mobility customers soon be seated in a Tesla? Maybe, says Eigenmann. "But it would be difficult for us to operate them profitably because of the high purchase price. No purchases are therefore planned for the time being. "We do hope to launch a pilot project with one or more Teslas as a result of the increased cooperation with garage operators this year."

Tesla or not, one thing is certain: the new electric and hybrid vehicles are not only intended to supplement the Mobility fleet, but to also gradually replace the old petrol and diesel models. As early as 2023, every fourth Mobility car will have alternative power, or even more, depending on the development in the market. Achieving this goal is not only a challenge for Mobility and its partners, but also for the world of politics, warns Eigenmann. Because there is still a lot of catching up to do in Switzerland in terms of charging infrastructure.

One of the main problems is that Mobility has to rely on third parties to charge electric vehicles. And because Mobility does not own the parking spaces for their shared cars, the installation of charging stations is often difficult.

"The costs for this are impossible for a private company," says Eigenmann. "There are not only the costs for the charging infrastructure, but also and especially the structural measures needed to supply the electricity. In addition, the landlord must always first give his consent. As a tenant, we have a shorter lever in this respect. "It’s currently out of the question to buy the parking spaces because Mobility wants to keep its location network flexible. In addition, this would simply be too expensive.”

That's why the company has started looking for new partners in the regions. Above all, Mobility sees this as the duty of the public sector. Eigenmann: "How quickly electromobility will prevail depends on how quickly the infrastructure required for this is made available."