Fleet and mobility software provider Sofico has created a reservation app for electric vehicle sharing specialist BattMobility that customers can use to select, book and drive vehicles from a fleet of zero-emission cars, bikes or scooters.
There is growing demand for software to manage mobility services amid the ongoing move from vehicle ownership to usership, which Sofico expects to become a key part of its product development programme.
BattMobility provides mobility options for both private and business customers in the local community. Each vehicle has a fixed charging point and a community of ‘primary users’, typically four to six people, but it also remains accessible to other network members.
The two companies began working together late last year to create the car-sharing platform and reservation app, which provides an overview of all available vehicles. The app is also used to start and end bookings and users can locate vehicles, look at battery charge levels and report each car’s condition.
Details of previous and next users can be accessed and users can communicate directly with each other about the vehicle or handover via in-app chat.
Sofico chief technical officer Piet Maes (pictured) said: “Car manufacturers are reinventing themselves as mobility service providers by bundling subscription models with driver-oriented services and peer-to-peer sharing, as part of a move towards on-demand instant access to vehicles.
“Meanwhile, fleet and leasing operators want to manage the usage of their vehicles with greater and different granularity, ranging from minutes to years. This new app fulfills a strategic need for us and allows us to offer the same car-sharing and mobility functionality to other Sofico customers.”
The service can be provided as a stand-alone product or as part of Sofico's Miles software platform.
Sofico employs 340 people and its systems are used in 27 countries worldwide.
