Ferrovial and Groupe Renault sign a strategic agreement to extend ZITY in other cities

Ferrovial, one of the world’s leading infrastructure operators and mobility and Groupe Renault, a pioneer of electric vehicles in Europe, and, have signed a strategic agreement to develop their partnership, which began in 2017, with ZITY, an electric vehicle car-sharing service offered by a joint venture between Groupe Renault and Ferrovial in Madrid.

Following the success of the Madrid offer, Groupe Renault and Ferrovial are about to provide a ZITY free-floating car-sharing service in Paris through a services agreement that will allow Group Renault to display ZITY’s brand and technology in Paris.

Particularly, in March 2020, a fleet of 500 100% electric Renault ZOE cars equipped with ZITY’s technology will be available to Parisians on a self-service basis. This is a particularly flexible and adapted offer that responds to a strong trend: 20% of the capital’s inhabitants have recourse to car-sharing.

This strategic partnership with Renault represents the next step after the success of ZITY in Madrid. We are pleased to continue our collaboration by bringing the expertise and technology developed by both companies. This has been key to achieving user acceptance,” said Ignacio Madridejos, CEO of Ferrovial. “Providing sustainable mobility solutions to citizens is a priority in the battle against climate change challenges.”

“The ZITY electric car-sharing service in free-floating offer has many advantages, including flexible booking times and the availability of vehicles in the right place at the right time thanks to a high-performance application,” emphasizes Gilles Normand, SVP Electric Vehicles and Mobility Services, Groupe Renault. “ZITY also provides a response to the needs of cities to reduce CO2 emissions and to combat pollution with a clean, accessible and sustainable mobility offer.”

Further steps in the development of Groupe Renault and Ferrovial’s partnership are subject to authorization from the European Commission.

Electric Cars Available 24/7

By offering electric Renault ZOE in free-floating, 24/7 basis, ZITY responds to spontaneous travel needs by offering flexibility close to that of owning a private vehicle.

Thanks to a mobile application, users can view the vehicle closest to their position on a map at any time of the day or night.

• The cars offer 5 real seats and are equipped with reverse camera, proximity sensors, GPS, touch screen and cruise control.
• Child seats are present in some vehicles and those equipped with them can be immediately viewed via the mobile application.

The reservation is instantaneous, and the vehicle unlocks via the application.

To end the rental, the vehicle must be parked in Paris, on any public square above ground and locked. The operation takes a few seconds.

Zity is a car-sharing service, which rents electric cars per minute. The cars are distributed all over the city on normal parking places. Customers can access easily to the cars through a simple App, to be downloaded for free.

Car-sharing must allow access to a vehicle quickly and without necessarily planning the duration of its use or the final destination of the trip. ZITY meets this need for flexibility and freedom by offering:

• Competitive rates adapted to needs: With no registration or subscription fees, ZITY offers different rates: per minute, fixed time (4h, 8h, 24h) or time credit with “economy packs”.

Thanks to the “stand-by” option, ZITY also makes it possible to keep the vehicle at a preferential cost when you need to park for a short time.

• A guaranteed battery level: The technology on board the Renault ZOE ZITY enables all the information on the dashboard, including the battery level, to be displayed in real time. Below the minimum level required, the vehicle is no longer available for hire and is quickly taken in hand by the ZITY teams to recharge it.
• Vehicle availability and intelligent positioning: In addition to offering great freedom of movement within and outside the area covered by the service (Paris intra-muros and Clichy), the high level of autonomy of the ZOE batteries also means less frequent recharging and therefore more vehicles available on the streets.

In addition, thanks to a highly competitive computer platform and an algorithm that analyses vehicle use, hour by hour and day by day, ZITY can identify the areas where car-sharing demand is highest and thus intelligently reposition vehicles in the city after servicing. The guarantee for the user to find a vehicle easily.

Towards International Expansion

After Madrid in 2017 and this launch in Paris, the service could be extended to other cities in the coming years, in order to make ZITY “the” electric car-sharing service of reference.