Car sharing companies have been around for a while now, where members can use cars within the company’s fleet on an as-needed basis. Typically these fleets might include just a handful of electric vehicles. But a new entrant into the marketplace is hoping to change that, aiming to bring 2,000 electric vehicles to White Rock and Surrey in British Columbia.
Shared Uses Mobility Company Inc. (SUMO), spearheaded by Raghbir Gurm, will be the first all-electric car share company in Canada, with plans to begin service in the October 2020.
The plans for SUMO call for the shared EVs to be stationed at SUMO branded hubs, where users will have to pick-up the vehicles for use, and then drop them off at the same location. By 2022, the plan is then shift to a free-float model, where members will be able to pick-up and drop-off at different locations.
The company has thus far paid deposits of 150 Hyundai IONIQ and KONA electric vehicles for the launch date, and plans to expand to 2,000 by 2022. No word yet if any Tesla’s will be part of their fleet by 2022. According to their website, they “believe that the future of mobility is shared, electric, and autonomous”, hinting at a possibility of Tesla vehicles becoming part of their fleet.
As Gurm points out, one of the primary goals of the company is the impact an all-electric car sharing company would have on the environment.
“Statistics from Vancouver are that one shared vehicle gets used about 20 per cent of the time. If you use that 20 per cent figure with electric vehicles, each vehicle will end up saving four metric tonnes of greenhouse emissions per vehicle. The impact we could have on our air is just phenomenal.”
h/t [Cloverdale Reporter]
