The new Europcar Mobility app is now live. This marks another significant milestone for the Volkswagen Group in its mobility strategy. Whether for a spontaneous trip or as a flexible everyday solution, users can now book vehicles quickly and directly with just a few clicks. E-scooters from the micromobility provider Dott will also be available for booking starting soon. Behind the app lies the concentrated power of a combined team: developers from Volkswagen Financial Services (VW FS) and Europcar have spent months brainstorming, designing, building and testing. On the occasion of the app's launch, we spoke to Marian Sutholt, Business Lead Mobility App at VW FS, and Sergio Rodriguez Sanz, Product Lead Mobility App at VW FS. In the interview, they tell us how the app came about, what went on behind the scenes, and how the world of mobility is rapidly changing.
Can you still remember the app's origins? How did the idea come about?
Sergio Rodriguez Sanz: It all started with the realization that the younger generation has a different attitude towards mobility. Especially in urban areas, usage on demand matters more in this new mindset than owning a car. That meant we needed to offer more than just leasing and financing. At the same time, we can assume there will continue to be a market for individual car transport in the future – even in cities. This is exactly what the Volkswagen Group had in mind with its majority stake in Europcar. Against this backdrop, we at VW FS were given the mandate to create a modern technical solution for flexible access to mobility.
Marian Sutholt: The original idea was to develop the most multimodal solution possible – a kind of Swiss Army knife for mobility, so to speak. However, from our business perspective, we quickly realized that it always takes an anchor product to operate such a mobility app successfully. With Europcar's new role within the Volkswagen Group, it quickly became clear that car rental is very well suited as such an anchor product. Additional mobility services can then be integrated around it to strengthen the core product.
What was the division of roles between VW FS and Europcar?
Sergio Rodriguez Sanz: We set up a joint project team with Europcar and filled all key positions from both sides. This led to intensive project collaboration. The Europcar colleagues bring their many years of expertise from the rental business. They also know their rental customers' needs best. We, on the other hand, have a very young team that was tasked with thinking outside the box. Accordingly, we focused heavily on design, innovation, and partner management.
What were the biggest challenges?
Marian Sutholt: The discussions about the right priorities were definitely a challenge. That's only logical. Regardless of our task to integrate various different mobility services, the rental product always needed to have priority as the key driver of earnings. We had to learn quickly and agilely which offerings mattered most to customers and which were not so relevant. Ultimately, the success of the multimodal offering depends on how well it supports the use of the anchor product. The core business is always the focus.
At a glance: The new Europcar Mobility App
The new Europcar Mobility app is here and replaces the previous version in Germany and Ireland. The app was developed in collaboration with Volkswagen Financial Services (VW FS) and brings together various mobility services.
At launch, users can book their vehicles worldwide in 130 countries through the new app at over 2,000 Europcar stations and choose from a high-quality vehicle fleet.
Through the car sharing company MILES Mobility, users have access to 18,000 vehicles in 12 German cities. At Dott, customers will soon be able to choose from 75,000 e-scooters and e-bikes in over 100 cities in Germany.
In the future, the mobility spectrum will be further expanded, e.g., with additional offerings from the Europcar product portfolio or the loyalty program.
The Europcar Mobility App is available in the App Store and on Google Play.
