Everyone who drives around Paris and its surroundings by car or even on two wheels will unanimously say that there is not much point in having a new vehicle to move around the streets of the capital.

Between the very dense traffic in some areas, if not in almost all, speed cameras, the price of parking spaces, the sometimes difficult coexistence with other modes of transport… Driving a car or two-wheeler in Paris is an obstacle course.

Car sharing, a sector struggling to gain a foothold even for Renault

And this applies not only to individual people. Businesses are also subject to these restrictions, starting with professionals (especially delivery) who spend a significant budget each year on fines, parking and all sorts of repairs. The same applies to car sharing services! We can even expand the range of sharing services in general. One only has to look at the condition of certain Velibs or even self-service scooters before the Parisians decided to ban them from the streets of the capital. In general, in large cities, in particular in Paris, car sharing is a service that is difficult to acceptand the Renault group’s young brand, Mobilize, paid the price.
As a reminder, since 2021, Mobilize has been specializing in mobility in a broad sense. Car sharing, short-term rental, car sharing, it must enable the French group to achieve the transition to tomorrow’s mobility. The brand already offers additional services to the purchase or lease of the group’s models, such as financing services (Mobilize Financial Services, formerly RCI), charging solutions, as well as free-floating vehicle subscriptions.

Paris, your ruthless universe

This latest mission is carried out by Zity, a car-sharing service created in collaboration with Spanish company Ferrovial, which offers the Renault Zoé and Dacia Spring for short-term rental in Madrid, Lyon, Milan and… Paris? no more as Zety just threw in the towel due to too much damage.
Ivan Segal, director of sales for Renault in France, confirmed in the columns of our colleagues at Auto Infos the cessation of service in Paris: “Compared to other cities, Paris presents particular challenges in terms of vehicle wear and tear,” he explains. Madrid stands out as the first city where the service has broken even. »
As the operation became too complex and the costs too high, Mobilize decided to focus elsewhere to “Guarantee the growth of the service in less complex areas”clarifies Ivan Segal.

Renault has no time to lose

In general, Mobilize is up against the strict laws of the new mobility market. On the positive side, this young brand does not continue with projects that already seem stillborn or that sell out after a few months. For example, the sale of the limousine in Europe has been cancelled.
This four-door electric sedan, a rebadged Chinese EZoom Yi (Renault is partnered with Jiangling Motors), was to be offered on long-term lease to VTC drivers in several European cities. While there have been some encouraging results in Madrid, notably through a partnership with local operator Cabify, in Paris, its deployment was finally cancelled. On the other hand, the launch of the Mobilize Duo (and its utilitarian version the Bento) is on the cards and should eclipse the certain Citroën Ami.

Mobilize will also focus on charging offers, notably through Renault’s new V2G technology (introduced on the Renault 5 E-Tech) and leasing.

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