Carsharing with electric microcars: drivemycar uses Invers carsharing technology

Swiss carsharing platform drivemycar is leveraging CloudBoxx carsharing telematics from Invers to add electric microcars to its fleets. The L7e electric microcars, known for addressing urban transport challenges, offer a sustainable solution for space constraints, operational efficiency, and environmental impact, while closing the gap between full size cars and micromobility for users. As a vehicle agnostic technology platform, CloudBoxx provides drivmycar with the flexibility to easily integrate these new vehicles with their existing fleet. 

Siegen/Zürich, January 30th, 2024 – drivemycar is expanding its portfolio of shared vehicles by adding a new category of vehicles: microcars. The Swiss platform is now able to offer carsharing with Mircolinos and leverages CloudBoxx, the carsharing telematics solution from Invers to integrate the light vehicles. Microcars are smaller versions of traditional cars, mostly 4-wheelers and in some cases 3 wheelers, that close the gap between micromobility vehicles such as mopeds or motorcycles, and cars. Microcars are enclosed vehicles designed for short to medium trips with an engine power usually between 4kW and 15kW, a typical length of no more than 3 meters, and two or three seats.  “We are seeing a growing number of user requests for small cars to save space and energy, so we decided to add Microlino to our offering”, says Metin Kabay, Co-Founder, COO and CTO of drivemycar. “Together with Invers, our tech partner, we can easily integrate this new form factor into our fleet. We’ll be using the same proven and vehicle agnostic CloudBoxx solution that we’ve had in our fleet since business launch.  

Global urban leaders are advocating for a shift in urban planning, steering away from a reliance on cars. “Currently, full-size cars weighing 1-3 tons occupy substantial public space, necessitating more and more urban areas for highways, lanes, and parking. Despite this approximately 80 percent of trips by these vehicles only transport a single person”, explains Merlin Ouboter, Co-Founder of Microlino AG. “Their environmental footprint, whether electric or not, is much higher than the footprint of an electric L7e microcar.” Some cities are advancing plans to remove all types of vehicles from their centers and move people to rely on mass transportation and two-wheeled micro-mobility vehicles. However, studies show that approximately for a third of daily commuters there are situations when a car is the best option for various reasons, be it flexibility, comfort or privacy. “With our flexible sharing technology, we enable providers to expand their business adding innovative mobility solutions with new vehicle categories such as microcars”, says Alexander Kirn, CEO at Invers. “Microcars can become an attractive solution to many urban challenges and even more so if used in a sharing model as drivemycar offers. Deploying microcars on a larger scale can lead to less pollution in cities, less urban congestion, more energy-efficient transportation, more safety for pedestrians and cyclists, and above all, more public space for green areas, sidewalks, and all kinds of urban community life.” 

drivemycar AG has been founded by Züri Garage AG owner Fadel Bouhouch together with Metin Kabay, Pascal Kienast and Jürg Burger in the summer of 2020. The team has developed the vehicle sharing platform using the CloudBoxx from Invers to offer peer-to-peer carsharing and Mobility-as-a-Service for enterprises, housing developments, cooperatives and car repair shops. The drivemycar app can also control garage doors and can be used for EV-charging station billing.