Renault announces new mobility division for business customers

30 April 2018

A new mobility services division has been established by Renault’s RCI Bank and Services arm to offer end-to-end solutions to customers of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance.

From 1 May, the new Mobility Services and Innovation Direction will be in charge of offering tailor-made mobility solutions to customers, in line with RCI Bank’s ambition to become a B2B mobility operator. The move is part of Renault’s Drive the Future plan and the Nissan M.O.V.E. to 2022 strategy. The division will be led by Executive Committee member Alice Altemaire.

The manufacturer notes that individual customers want access to car-sharing or chauffeured services as mobility needs are evolving. In turn, Businesses want to optimise fleet use by pooling vehicle resources among employees, while cities are seeking alternative solutions to reduce pollution and congestion across their infrastructures.

In a statement, the company says: ′[The new division] will expand the already broad palette of available options to Alliance brand customers, but will also be marketed on a stand-alone1 basis. The Mobility Services and Innovation Direction will ensure profitability for the startups in which RCI Bank and Services has invested while fostering reciprocal sales synergy. , this new department will pursue partnerships with recognised startup accelerators and open-innovation programs to stay on the cutting edge of the latest technological advances.’

The creation of the division is the next step, following the group’s investments over the last three years. Through its subsidiary RCI Mobility, and in collaboration with the Alliance brands, RCI Bank and Services offers businesses car-sharing solutions to facilitate employee travel. Using the Karhoo platform, employees and business customers can reserve a taxi or private hire vehicle (PHV), track and pay for their trips, all in real time. RCI Bank and Services has also chosen to invest in Marcel, a 24/7 platform through which customers can reserve – in advance or the moment – a PHV in the region of Paris (Ile-de-France).

′To keep up with the pace of new automotive usages and improve the customer experience, RCI Bank and Services is continuously developing innovative, personalised automobility solutions. By opening a new Mobility Services and Innovation Direction, we are supporting the Alliance’s mobility projects while pursuing our ambition to become a B2B mobility operator,’ explains Bruno Kintzinger, Chief Executive Officer of RCI Bank and Services.

The move is similar to one from Toyota, which last week announced a new mobility division would be set up to operate from London. Toyota Connected will hire tech workers as it looks to build small teams across a number of different platforms which it can then offer to customers across the continent. The move comes as the business seeks to shift from a traditional automotive company to a wider services provider, in order to futureproof itself against changes in ownership models.