Posted 05/23/2018 11: 39: 01CET
MADRID, May 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
WiBLE, the car sharing service of Kia and Repsol that will operate in Madrid from June for 0.24 euros per minute, will replace its fleet of 500 Kia Niro with 100% electric vehicles in two years.
The CEO of WiBLE, Javier Martínez Ríos, assured in an interview granted to Europa Press, within the framework of the Madrid Motor Show, Auto Madrid 2018, that the firm will tend toward electrification once the all-electric propulsion cars offer “sufficient” autonomy.
“Our business model is based on the idea of going beyond what autonomy requires, we want that when our customers take a car, it has sufficient autonomy, for example, to go to the Sierra de Madrid. in the environment of two years, we will replace the entire fleet because our idea is to move towards electrification, “he said.
Martínez Ríos argued that this type of company requires “important” investments and that its objective is to place the subsidiary between Kia and Repsol as a “real alternative” for customers in Madrid, where three other car sharing companies already operate (car2go, Emov and Zity).
In this regard, he argued that the arrival in Madrid of additional cars from car-sharing companies will not be a problem for traffic or parking.
“We do not see that the car sharing fleets could be a problem for the people of Madrid, but quite the opposite, we are making Madrid a world reference in the conceptualization of car sharing as a transport option that substitutes or complements to the private car, “he added.
DO NOT DENY TO EXPAND THE FLEET.
The director considered that 500 vehicles are enough to cover “well” the operations inside and outside the central almond of the Spanish capital, although he added that, in case the uses are greater than expected, WiBLE does not close the door to expand your fleet
According to Martínez Ríos, Kia has chosen Repsol as a partner to enter into the car sharing business because it brings a lot of “capillarity”, thanks to its service stations, and its mobility experience. “It is a great company of the Ibex 35 and with a very important institutional presence,” he said.
He also explained that the energy company sees in the South Korean firm an “ally” that brings experience in the market of all types of markets.