Zoomcar, ETO Motors Partner to Announce a Platform of Services to Boost Shared EV Mobility

Zoomcar, India’s largest personal mobility platform, signed an agreement this week with Hyderabad based ETO Motors, a full-fledged electric mobility solutions & services company, to provide a diverse array of platform services for ETO’s electric, shared 3-wheeler business. As part of this agreement, Zoomcar will provide access to its state-of-the-art, proprietary tech stack which emphasizes security and maintenance of vehicles, thereby building a consumer base for electric vehicles and improving the overall customer experience. In the partnership, ETO Motors will own and operate electric three-wheelers for shared first-mile and last-mile passenger commute as well as goods movement within the cities. 

Zoomcar’s tie-up with ETO Motors entails the development of an innovative platform to address the vast opportunities across India in the first mile, last mile, and Intracity passengers as well as goods movement space using electric vehicles. The strategic partnership will help create the necessary competency and technology for building the future of the mobility market in India. 

Commenting on the latest development, Greg Moran, CEO & Co-Founder Zoomcar said, ‘’The mobility industry is going through a transformational phase globally due to the pandemic. At Zoomcar, we strive to be at the forefront of creating innovative solutions that can help shape this transformative shift. From the beginning, we set out to build a software solution that helps reduce accidents and improves asset longevity.  Through this partnership with ETO Motors, we aim to leverage our AI based platform to enable large fleet operators to better manage their assets through greater vehicle safety and lower total operating cost. We are delighted to partner with ETO Motors on the next phase of their growth journey in India’s rapidly expanding EV market.” 

Commenting on the development which will boost ETO Motors efforts to drive the sustainable EV revolution, Mr. Biju Mathew, CEO, ETO Motors said, “The coming together of both companies marks a significant beginning in boosting the shared EV mobility space. Zoomcar’s contribution will be in the form of its technology, including apps for customers and drivers combined with the experience of managing large scale mobility solutions.ETO will own and operate state of the art electric vehicles to deliver seamless mobility to customers. The next phase of collaboration between our respective companies with respect to the development of the co-branded digital platform will undoubtedly mark a significant step forward for the industry.” 

Zoomcar’s previously announced driver score tech stack is an AI powered algorithm with machine learning capabilities that rates the driver’s performance on a scale of 0-100.  The driver score tracks the condition of the vehicle, the driving style of the customer, and the real-time critical events impacting the vehicle health. The scoring system possesses capabilities to give real-time feedback to drivers in the advent of rash driving to help them adjust their behavior accordingly. The platform is agnostic to the vehicle type and the telematics device installed.  Moreover, the platform works for both traditional internal combustion vehicles as well as electric vehicles. 

This signing of the MoU for the co-branded platform is part of ETO Motors plan to introduce a fleet of smart electric vehicles and strengthen its clean mobility solution offering. The platform will focus on the deployment of electric vehicles in the three-wheelers, four-wheelers, and two-wheelers segment for first-mile, last-mile, intracity passenger, and goods movement across India. The platform will help in the discovery of the vehicle and will ensure a safe commute for the passengers. The smart vehicles can be geo-fenced and disabled remotely in case of any emergency. ETO has already introduced its smart vehicles for first and last-mile connectivity service in Noida Metro and is poised to expand its presence in the coming times. 

About Zoomcar 

Zoomcar holds the distinction of being India’s first personal mobility platform, with the introduction of car-sharing services in 2013 and today is the market leader in the self-drive space with over 10,000 cars in its fleet. With a strong focus on the mobile experience, Zoomcar allows users to rent cars by the hour, day, week, or month. Headquartered in Bangalore, Zoomcar is over 250 people strong and operates in 45+ cities across India. In 2018, Zoomcar introduced India’s first peer2peer based marketplace for cars with the launch of its shared subscription mobility model and currently commands over 90% market share in this space. 

About ETO Motors PVT Ltd. 

ETO-is a full-fledged electric mobility solutions and services company into large-scale deployment of multi-brand shared electric diverse fleet for cleaner cities that provides clean, safe, noise free public transportation for first mile, last mile and intracity operations. ETO-addresses issues of Clean shared Public Mobility Traffic Congestion Reduce co2 emissions Direct transfers Efficient use of capacity Public Parking Space. Cheaper Journey Price – 2W,3W, 4W, Bus, Cargo. 

All New CRETA Establishes Supremacy Records Over 55 000 Bookings

* All New CRETA dominates India’s SUV landscape - Becomes India’s Best-selling SUV for two consecutive months in May and June 2020

* Most enquired and searched car on Hyundai ‘Click to Buy’ with 30 % enquiries and 76% bookings 

* Diesel models constitute 60% of bookings, indicating strong customer sentiment for Hyundai’s advanced Diesel BS6 technology

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL), country’s First Smart Mobility Solutions provider and the largest exporter since inception continues to receive overwhelming response for its recently launched All New CRETA – The Ultimate SUV that has now recorded more than 55 000 Bookings. 

Commenting on the achievement, Mr Tarun Garg, Director(Sales, Marketing & Service), Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, “Ever since its launch in 2015, CRETA has been a benchmark in the industry, a household name that has represented distinction and success for over 4.85 lakh valued customers. With the launch of All New CRETA in March 2020, Hyundai has once again redefined SUV leadership in the segment and established its supremacy, recording over 55 000 Bookings and more than 20 000 Happy Customers in just 4 months. This achievement stands testament to All New CRETA’s superior looks, feature rich package and dominant performance that has won hearts across India, even during these trying times.”

All New CRETA established its leadership in the SUV segment by attaining highest sales in the month of May and June 2020. The contribution of Diesel in the All New CRETA bookings continues to increase and is now 60% of the total bookings received, indicating a strong demand for Hyundai’s advanced and globally proven Diesel BS6 Technology. The All New CRETA is also the most researched model on India’s First and Most Comprehensive end-to-end Car Buying Platform ‘Click to Buy’ with over 30% customers enquiring about All New CRETA.

A bestseller in its segment, All New CRETA has consistently been the most admired and preferred SUV in India, with customers opting for its ultimate features such as

-          Voice Enabled Smart Panoramic Sunroof

-          Drive Mode Select

-          Traction Control Modes

-          Bose Premium Sound System (8 Speakers),

-          Auto Healthy Air Purifier with Digital Display

-          Paddle Shifters

-           Ventilated Seats

Further, All New CRETA offers a thrilling drive, powered by Hyundai’s new 1.4 l Kappa Turbo GDi Petrol (BS6) engine with 7DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission) gaining immense popularity among buyers. All New CRETA also offers customers complete peace of mind with WONDER Warranty Options - 3 Years/unlimited kms or 4 years/60 000 kms or 5 years/50 000 kms. 

Spinny Sees 400% Increase in Queries and Home-Test Drive Requests from Women

Spinny – a complete online-to-offline retail platform for buying and selling preowned or used cars – has sold more than 1,200 cars since lockdown 4.0 began. The company has observed a 400% increase in queries from women buyers since preowned cars are now considered a ‘necessity’ for urban households. For the safety of all customers and employees, Spinny has processed all orders #WithExtraCare via a contactless delivery system. 

As women are inconvenienced by social distancing and other COVID-19 related restrictions, owning a car is now seen as the swiftest, safest way of personal mobility. Due to the liquidity crunch, however, along with other customers, women are opting for preowned cars. Therefore, Spinny is providing a safe modern-day solution at each touch-point keeping ‘Customer Convenience’ and safety at the center of every experience. Since the lockdown, the number of women customers is estimated to be 20% compared to 10% women car buyers in 2019.

Commenting on the trend of women preferring preowned cars, Niraj Singh, CEO  & Co-Founder – Spinny said: “The ongoing pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for customers, including women. Be it buying, selling, online ordering, home-test drives or home deliveries, we have set industry standards in zero-contact processes.  Men try but women helm the responsibilities of the safety of the family in a household, and with the rising enquires, it's evident that women wouldn't compromise in safety in transportation for any household.''

 In its Home Test Drive #WithExtraCare, Spinny rigorously follows the necessary precautions as per WHO guidelines, with safety as the top priority. Once on the website or app, buyers go through three simple steps for zero-contact home delivery of their chosen car. Thereby, Spinny has processed numerous orders since lockdown 4.0. In facilitating online purchases, the process is wholly transparent. The car’s entire history is online with HD images covering every angle of the vehicle. Customers are given a real-time virtual tour in viewing the car. All Spinny cars displayed on the portal are available for a home-test drive at the customer’s convenience.

Besides, Spinny stringently ensures employee hygiene. Screened for temperatures daily, the staff adheres to all social distancing norms while attending to customers. Across cities, Spinny car hubs function as deep sanitization zones where each car is sanitized before and after every test drive with special focus on frequently-touched areas. During the test drive, customers receive a complimentary safety kit comprising masks, gloves and sanitizers. Once satisfied, the customer can buy the car on the spot after the test drive or request home delivery. 

Spinny is redefining the auto retail of preowned cars via its seamless ‘phygital’ purchase process. Since its inception, Spinny has earned the trust of 10,000-plus customers. Currently, it operates in six cities – Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune – via 10 car hubs. With its No Haggling Fixed Price Assurance, 1-Year Warranty and 5-Day No Questions Asked Money-Back Guarantee, Spinny has gained customers’ trust while augmenting their premium buying experience.

About Spinny

Spinny is a full-stack car-buying platform for the young Indian, enabling a car buying experience that is simple and delightful. Though in the early stages, Spinny has been appreciated by its customers with an above 4.5 out of 5 ratings from Spinny car owners – and a 78% NPS and 35% referral purchases. Headquartered in Gurgaon, Spinny employs 500-plus people across 6 cities in India.

An IIT-Delhi alumnus, Niraj Singh (Founder & CEO) is a serial entrepreneur and investor. Spinny was born out of his desire to deal with a core area that directly addresses the customer’s challenge – in this case, a car. He noticed the absence of a platform that offers a completely trustworthy and premium experience to people purchasing second-hand cars, even though they are spending a significant amount and the purchase is a very aspirational one for them. He was determined to solve this problem by eliminating the distrust and making the process simple and straightforward for customers.

Cars that sense danger to pedestrians to roll out soon

BMW is refining a car-to-car communication system that offers more pedestrian protection by "sensing" situations and persons that cannot normally be seen by motorists, according to the car maker.

In a typical situation a child could suddenly jump onto the road from between two parked vehicles. In such a case the moving vehicle would communicate with an electronic transponder carried by the child or cyclist for protection.

The project is part of the AMULETT research project aimed at preventing accidents with sensoring and tracking technology. On board car systems are networked with those of other vehicles or transponders carried by persons. These can be installed in school bags, mobile phones or in a walking stick.

Should the system determine an impending collision or danger situation, the driver is warned with a signal on the head-up display. If he or she does not respond the system automatically triggers a braking procedure.

According to German government accident statistics 48 percent of child accident victims between the age of six and 14 ran onto the road without observing the traffic. Other research has shown that in 40 percent of fatal pedestrian accidents, the driver could not react in time.

Agencies

Can cars will talk to each other to avert accidents?

A radio technology that allows cars to 'talk' to each other and avert accidents is being tested now.

It warns drivers of potential intersection crashes, rear-end collisions and lane drift - and could be available in everyday vehicles as early as 2012.

The technology will also enable traffic flow management and optimised route selection for drivers, reducing the costs of traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.

Live safety demonstrations of the technology will be held at an Australian Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC) industry event.

Vehicle manufacturers and state and federal government will be among industry stakeholders who will see first-hand the DSRC technology developed by Kent Town-based company Cohda Wireless.

Cohda Wireless was founded in 2004 by a group of scientists working at UniSA's Institute for Telecommunications Research.

Director of UniSA's Institute for Telecommunications Research Alex Grant said DSRC is a radio technology that combines GPS and Wi-Fi like communications to effectively enable cars to talk to each other.

"This technology essentially equips vehicles with the ability to see around corners and to predict and avoid dangerous situations," said Grant, according to an UniSA release.

Cohda has done DSRC field trials for vehicle manufacturers in the US and Europe and hopes to start a large-scale trial in Adelaide.

Agencies