You've probably noticed that many commercial vehicles are now electric vehicles – think delivery vans, telecom minibuses, utility maintenance trucks, etc. But many diesel commercial vehicles remain because they are simply too expensive and too complicated to convert to an entire fleet of electric vehicles overnight.
For this reason, Pelikan Mobility has built a platform and leasing solution to address this challenge caused by the transition to electric vehicles for commercial fleets. The French startup has raised a €4 million seed round (about $4.4 million at today's exchange rate) from Pale Blue Dot, Frst, Seedcamp, and others.
Both commercial fleet operations are designed and financed for conventional internal combustion engine vehicles. If you want to go beyond a few EVs, you need to think about charging, range, and your day-to-day operations.
“We have developed a software solution to optimize fleet operations with electric vehicles. Fleets do not have to be fully electric, they generally are not there yet. Diesel fleet operators are the ones starting to add electric vehicles to their fleets. We are helping them optimize vehicle utilisation.” According to their capabilities,” co-founder and CEO Vincent Schachter told me.
After registering your entire fleet on Pelikan Mobility and uploading historical data, the company can automatically create various optimization scenarios that take into account charging times, diesel and electric vehicle charging pricing, range, parking space, and more.
Pelikan Mobility goes beyond day-to-day optimization because it also takes into account the total costs associated with each vehicle – capital expenditures are just as important as operational expenditures for commercial fleets. EVs tend to be more expensive to purchase one, for example. But they are generally cheaper to operate.
“These are long-term but very accurate scenarios. Since we have ingested the operational data of the fleet, we can build a digital twin. In these long-term scenarios, we also simulate daily routes with different vehicle designs, different charging station scenarios, etc.,” said Schachter.
This software platform opens up new possibilities in leasing. Many companies lease their commercial vehicles, and Pelikan Mobility believes prices are discounted for commercial electric vehicles.
“Leasing is designed for private vehicles with internal combustion engines. Leases — even for commercial vehicles, even for electric vehicles — expire very quickly. “These are 3- to 5-year contracts, and the whole business revolves around the resale value of the vehicles,” Schachter said. “.
“Why do lessees want short contracts? Automakers want to sell more models and consumers want the latest model,” he added. But that’s not necessarily true for commercial vehicles. That’s why Pelikan Mobility believes longer leasing plans make more sense.
“The good news is that electric vehicles last longer than diesel vehicles. They are long-term assets,” Schachter said. Longer contracts mean the risks associated with resale value are lower.
The company expects to begin offering its first leasing plans this summer. It will also have to raise a debt fund for this new business as Pelikan Mobility plans to handle larger clients.
Currently, the startup has seven clients. When adding the commercial fleets of these customers, Pelikan Mobility currently tracks just under 100,000 vehicles on its platform. It's a software-meets-financing game that could facilitate the switch to electric vehicles for fleet managers.
