SIXT Boosts EV Availability by 30% with Guided Energy
SIXT, a car rental company, has taken a significant step toward sustainability by deploying thousands of EVs worldwide.
The move aims to help customers reduce their carbon footprint. However, the transition to electrification has been challenging.
- Limited charging infrastructure: Many branches needed a grid connection to access enough power, and public chargers were often far away or expensive. This scarcity can cause range anxiety among renters, who may worry about running out of battery power before reaching a charging point.
- Fragmented data systems: EV and charger data often sat in silos, failing to integrate with existing operations. This disconnection made it difficult for branches to prioritise charging and manage the new variables of EVs effectively. Getting these elements right could lead to more efficient ways to turn around EVs and a positive customer experience.
- Operational hurdles: Electrification in the car hire space introduced new operational hurdles, such as complexity in planning. Different charging speeds, battery capacities, pickup times, and available power made it challenging to determine which vehicle needed to be plugged in, where and when. The added complexity made EVs more difficult for operators to adopt.
Guided Energy
Guided Energy is the platform that supports SIXT's branches in planning their charging schedules and ensuring smooth operations. This all-in-one EV and charge management platform has revolutionised how SIXT handles its EV fleet.
- Automated charge schedules: Guided Energy uses advanced algorithms to ensure the right EV has enough power at the right time. It integrates data from EVs, chargers, and upcoming reservations, reacting in real time to dynamic changes.
- Proactive monitoring: Real-time alerts ensure completed charge sessions don't lead to costly fines on external chargers. They also prevent lousy planning or interruptions that could result in a negative customer experience, maximising recharging capacity and investment.
- Consolidated data platform: Guided Energy brings data across EVs, chargers, and external charging point operators (CPOs) into one place. This integration allows SIXT to automate reporting on charge costs across its entire footprint, making it easier to track expenses and identify overspending drivers.
- Increased utilisation and quicker turnaround times: With the Guided charging schedule, the right vehicle is charged at the right time, avoiding costly delays and consistently delivering an excellent end-customer experience. It has led to increased utilisation of the EV fleet.
- Time saved in planning and monitoring: Users no longer need to perform countless checks on charging progress or manually create new schedules whenever something changes. This automation has saved significant time and effort.
- Reduced charging fines: Alerts and notifications ensure that EVs are unplugged when charged, making chargers available to other vehicles when needed and avoiding fines for overstaying on public chargers.
- Automated reporting: With all transactions consolidated in one place, reconciling costs at the end of the month is easier than ever. This streamlined reporting helps identify overspending drivers and analyse expenses by branch or category.
Marc Aubrée, MD of SIXT France, sums up the impact of Guided Energy: "Guided Energy has significantly streamlined our recharging processes, saving us substantial time and effort in managing electric vehicles.
"The platform consolidates all our EV-related operations, including costs, supervision, and fleet management, allowing us to oversee the business unit efficiently.
"Most importantly, our systems, vehicles, and chargers are seamlessly interconnected, simplifying EV management for operators and making it as straightforward as handling combustion vehicles."
With Guided Energy, SIXT has overcome the challenges of electrification and boosted EV availability by 30%, setting a new standard for the car rental industry.
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