Europe’s leading mobility platform FREE NOW increases BEV tours by 71% in 2021

Hamburg, September 16 2021 - FREE NOW, Europe’s leading multi-service mobility platform, today publishes its latest electric vehicle transition insights on the occasion of the European Mobility Week, which starts today. The company announced its initial sustainability strategy – Move To Net-Zero – in January 2021. The strategy includes immediate offsetting and long-term Net-Zero efforts, targeting 50% of rides being fully electric by 2025 andreducing emissions to zero by 2030. With this, FREE NOW aims to become the first mobility platform in Europe to reach Net-Zero emissions by 2030.

Already during this year, the leading mobility platform has been pushing the electrification of rides and, so far, FREE NOW’s BEV tours have increased by 71%^[1] with a 20% increase in active BEV drivers on the platform. Additionally, FREE NOW has integrated almost 130,000 new electric scooters, bikes and shared cars into the platform, Europe-wide, thanks to partnerships with brands like TIER, Voi, Emmy, Cooltra, MILES and SHARE NOW. With all of these actions, FREE NOW has become the mobility app with the biggest vehicle choice for consumers in Europe. By the end of 2021, FREE NOW expects to complete around 4 million rides with its multi mobility partners on the app.

Consumers across Europe prefer sustainable mobility options

In addition to FREE NOW promoting more sustainable modes of transportation in the app, the leading mobility platform has initiated its own survey: The study analyzes consumer mobility preferences and behaviours in Europe^[2] and it says that 7 out of 10 Europeans chose ‘very much’ or ‘to a certain extent’ when asked for their thoughts about moving with sustainable mobility services. Specifically, almost 50% of the Europeans surveyed said they value moving in electric vehicles ‘a lot’ and 65% would like to have a BEV default option in the app. 20% of Europeans would be willing to pay more for a BEV ride. FREE NOW has recently included a clean air fee in some of its markets to further accelerate investment in the transition from its standard fleet to electric vehicles and promote greener mobility.

FREE NOW has also launched a number of local projects to boost the electric transition of its fleet. In Spain for example, the leading mobility platform has reached agreements with car manufacturers to offer discounts on the purchase of electric taxis to its drivers and, in parallel, prioritise BEV tours in the app. The FREE NOW Spanish BEV fleet has increased by 272% and BEV taxi drivers are doing 220% more tours. In France, BEV tours have doubled since January and, since Spring, the company is helping drivers gain access to fast charging points in Paris, thanks to partnerships with RATP and Shell. As well in markets like Portugal, the proportion of BEV tours is in part above 26% already today.

Along with these local actions, the company is placing emphasis on educating and raising awareness amongst its stakeholders about the importance of 100% electric mobility for the sake of citizens and the environment.

Over 170,000 tons of CO2 emissions have been offset incl. tree planting in Europe

Globally, FREE NOW is working with Climate Partner to develop offset projects to compensate for the current output of CO2 emissions produced by both the company and its services. All of these projects are certified to the highest standards (Gold Standard or Verified Carbon Standard) and match with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)^[3]. The project's focus is on renewable energy – which powers transportation, the core of FREE NOW’s services – and forest protection and reforestation, as emissions from their services and others can be bound within trees.

In total, FREE NOW is offsetting 173,000 tons of CO2 emissions with three projects. One in Madre de Dios, Peru (dedicated to protecting a threatened piece of the Amazon); a second in Indonesia (extending wind energy in the region and developing rural areas); and in a third, closer to home in Europe. It is supporting the reforestation and growth of local forests with regional tree planting.

FREE NOW supports the EU Mobility Week

From 16th-22nd September, FREE NOW will participate in the EU Mobility Week across all of its markets, with activities to promote sustainable urban mobility. Part of this week is the so-called Car Free Day. Based on the FREE NOW study, 32% of Europeans still prefer using their own car when moving around their city. Despite this, 68% believe that there are too many private cars in cities and 17% stress that dependency on cars  is one of the main mobility difficulties in cities. Other issues are traffic and congestion (50%), parking difficulties (45%) and environmental concerns (26%), like pollution or noise.

Marc Berg, CEO of FREE NOW states "The future of urban mobility is fully connected. Consumers want to get from A to B ever more sustainably. The way we move in our cities is key to protect our planet and our own health. It's time to act now. And that is exactly what we are doing at FREE NOW. We are leading the change to a greener future by increasing our electric fleet in Europe and investing in green mobility multi options for our users. We also support companies in becoming more flexible and connected: with a mobility budget for their staff, thereby extending the company's own sustainability guidelines to fleet management too. We encourage other companies to take similar steps and lead this change all together.”

Further information on FREE NOW’s Net-Zero Milestones can be found here: https://free-now.com/make-a-move/

Join our “NOW we're talking” webinar series: on the 20th September at 11:00 am CEST we will discuss together with representatives from SHARE NOW, Voi and Cooltra how multi mobility platforms support sustainable urban living and enable concepts like the 15-minute city. More information and registration via the Linkedin event page.

^[1]Jan ‘21 to Aug ‘21

^[2]FREE NOW survey with respondents from Online-Panel provider Dynata. First week of September 2021. n= 5110 (Europe, including Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Ireland,Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and the United Kingdom)

^[3]FREE NOW aligns the most with SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).