You've probably noticed that many commercial vehicles are now electric. Think delivery vans, communication minivans, utility maintenance trucks, and more. However, there are still many diesel-powered commercial vehicles. Because diesel-powered commercial vehicles are simply too expensive and too complicated to replace. Create an all-electric vehicle fleet overnight.
That's why Pelican Mobility has built a platform and leasing solution to address this challenge posed by the switch of commercial fleets to EVs. The French startup has raised a seed round of €4 million (about $4.4 million at today's exchange rates) from Pale Blue Dot, Frst, Seedcamp and others.
Both commercial vehicle operations and financing are designed for conventional vehicles with internal combustion engines. If you want to go beyond a handful of EVs, you need to consider charging, range, and daily operation.
“We have developed a software solution that optimizes fleet operations with electric vehicles. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a fully electric vehicle; it typically isn’t yet. Diesel fleet operators are starting to adopt electric vehicles, and we are helping them optimize the use of their vehicles according to their capabilities,” said Vincent Schachter, Co-Founder and CEO. said.
After registering the entire fleet with Pelikan Mobility and uploading historical data, the company can automatically create various optimization scenarios that take into account charging time, diesel and EV charging price, range, parking space, etc. .
Pelikan Mobility goes beyond day-to-day optimization and also considers the overall costs associated with each vehicle. Capital investment is just as important as operating costs for a commercial fleet. For example, when you buy an EV, the price tends to be higher. However, it is generally cheaper to operate.
“These are long-term scenarios, but they are very accurate. Now that we have ingested fleet operational data, we can build a digital twin. These long-term scenarios include different vehicle designs, different charging station scenarios, etc. We sometimes use it to simulate daily routes,” Schachter said.
And this software platform unlocks new possibilities in terms of leasing. Many companies lease commercial vehicles, but Pelican Mobility believes commercial EV pricing is unbeatable.
“Leases are designed for private vehicles with internal combustion engines. Lease contracts end too soon, even for commercial vehicles and electric vehicles. These are three to five year contracts and The entire business is built around the resale value of the vehicles,” Schachter said.
“Why would renters seek short-term contracts? Because car manufacturers want to sell more models and consumers want the latest models,” he added. But that doesn't necessarily apply to commercial vehicles. Therefore, Pelican Mobility believes that long-term lease plans make more sense.
“The good news is that electric cars last longer than diesel cars. These are long-term assets,” Schacter said. Also, the longer the term, the lower the risk associated with resale value.
The company plans to begin offering its first lease plans this summer. Pelican Mobility will also need to raise debt financing for its new business as it plans to serve larger customers.
Currently, the startup has seven customers. Adding up these customers' commercial vehicles, Pelikan Mobility currently tracks just under 100,000 of his vehicles on the platform. It's a combination of software and finance that could make it easier for fleet managers to switch to electric vehicles.