DriveNow users pass the milestone of 1.4 million electric trips

28 April 2017

While electric vehicles (EVs) still struggle to account for little more than a 1% share of new car registrations across the European Union, they are gaining traction through car-sharing schemes such as DriveNow, the joint venture between the BMW Group and Sixt. Since EVs were first added to the DriveNow fleet, users have now completed more than 1.4 million trips, covering more than ten million kilometres with pure electric power.

DriveNow first added EVs to its fleet in 2013 and CEO Sebastian Hofelich says: ′We offer customers the possibility to drive electrically at all our locations. Our customers value this alternative – we receive a lot of positive feedback.’ GrÜneAutos.com reports that DriveNow customers in the eleven European cities in which the scheme now operates have access to a total of 870 BMW i3 EVs and more than 240,000 customers have had their first EV driving experience in the cars. In fact, whereas both EVs and cars with internal combustion engines (ICE) are available, most users opt for the EV.

DriveNow managing director Nico Gabriel said: ′Quite a few customers even consciously only drive with our electric cars. About 30,000 of our users drive exclusively with electric cars. One customer has even already completed over 1,000 trips with the BMW i3.’

According to GrÜneAutos.com, Berlin is one of the leading cities for EV usage among DriveNow’s locations, partly because of its well-developed charging infrastructure. Given this, the establishment of a nationwide network of charging stations remains crucial for the expansion of DriveNow.

′At most locations, the charging infrastructure is still insufficient, which means a high operational effort for us,’ said Gabriel. He added: ′Our figures show clearly what contribution we have already made to reducing emissions and raising awareness for electric driving. Now it is up to the municipalities to further improve the prerequisites for electro-mobility.’ 

Photograph courtesy of DriveNow