Why is Kapten joining FREE NOW?
Dimitri Tsygalnitzky - At the end of September 2020, Kapten, one of Europe's leading VTC operators, joined FREE NOWEurope's number 1 multimodal application, the result of a merger between Daimler and BMW in March 2019 with the aim of designing tomorrow's mobility: multimodal, connected and responsible. Today the project is taking shape: FREE NOW and Kapten are merging to become stronger and offer the best mobility experience to their users and corporate customers. Through this strategic alliance, Kapten is joining forces with one of Europe's leaders in mobility, already present in 10 countries.
We are absolutely convinced that with a single brand, a single team and a single platform, not only will we emerge from this crisis even stronger, but it will also lead to a increased demand with our partners.
After the COVID 19 lockout, studies of VTC users and mobility services showed that demand for car sharing and mobility on demand will continue to grow. It's the best alternative to public transport. As a result, thanks to the support and full confidence of our shareholders, we were able to complete this merger just after the various restrictions and we are continuing to develop in the post-Corona era.
What does this mean for Kapten Business?
Dimitri Tsygalnitzky - This merger is also a an opportunity to strengthen and develop our relationships with our corporate customers. We plan to increase our market share among SBF 250 customers, with the aim of to become the leader in the tertiary sector in Europe and to focus on European businesses. Today FREE NOW for Business has 30,000 customers in Europe and 3,500 in France, more than a million business trips are carried out annually on average in France, 50% of customer companies are CAC40 companies, and FREE NOW for Business accounts for almost 50% of sales. 20% in France.
Will the FREE NOW for Business offer be different from the one you were offering at Kapten Business?
Dimitri Tsygalnitzky - We are strengthening the technological side of the business by doubling our team of developers. Geographically, FREE NOW for Business will mean greater coverage across Europe, as well as the arrival of our offering in new cities in France, notably Lille and Bordeaux.
Does this mean that FREE NOW for Business is planning to diversify its mobility offering?
Dimitri Tsygalnitzky - Our offer already varies from country to country. For example, we offer choice between taxi and VTC in several countries where we are present, and our application already includes micro-mobility options such as electric scooters and electric bikes. This is the case in Germany with the integration of third-party suppliers such as Voi electric scooters and car-sharing thanks to our partnership with MILES. We are actively looking for other mobility services to integrate into our application, including public transport in the cities where we operate.
Visit Francewe will be joining forces with BOND Mobility to offer electric bicycles. With this type of integration, FREE NOW is continuing to develop intelligent, connected services in cooperation with partners and cities. We hope to be able to offer the service very soon also under FREE NOW for Business.
FREE NOW continues to develop intelligent, connected services
Companies are increasingly concerned about their CSR, which is also being driven by their employees. How is FREE NOW for Business positioning itself in this area?
Dimitri Tsygalnitzky - Mobility has taken a new turn, particularly in the current crisis: more innovative, more demanding, more structured and, above all, more responsible. Our study rightly shows that decision-makers want to meet the challenges of micro-mobility and CSRto the well-being of their employees. At FREE NOW for Business we follow and draw inspiration from these trends to propose solutions tailored to companies' new mobility policiesThis is particularly true of our electric range, which meets the challenges of sustainable mobility at a standard price. From the point of view of environmental responsibility, improving our carbon footprint is the main task of our type of company.
We have worked with experts to measure our carbon footprint and on the basis of our results, we have decided to reduce emissions per passenger-kilometre by 50% until 2025. We are focusing our efforts on transforming our fleet for over a year.
Today, we have the largest electric fleet in London and Paris. In Paris, our 'green' fleet is 100% electric compared with that of our competitors. And electric bikes will soon be added to the application in France to encourage micro-mobility.
How do you fit into the business travel ecosystem?
Dimitri Tsygalnitzky - We have a long history of working with SAP Concur to facilitate the management of employee expense accounts. Today, we want to go even further and integrate other business travel partners.
FREE NOW for Business: key figures
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