Innovation

While electric vehicles are already available to buyers in the market, VEMO is focused on transforming mobility in cities. Their innovation is architectural, because VEMO has developed a new business model that enables existing and new customers to access and use electric vehicles. They designed their own fleet of EVs especially conceived for ride hailing, passenger safety and comfort, with extra space for the passengers in the back seats, enough space in the trunk for wheelchairs and sliding doors for extra maneuvering space, as well as speed limits to make the rides safer. Every detail in the design was analyzed extensively to provide the best riding experience for customers. VEMO also provides additional security measures such as a panic button, camera, GPS and microphone in each of their vehicles. Fleets are continuously monitored in order to avoid misuse of their units and ensure the safety of all the vehicle’s passengers through remote assistance. This enables women drivers to feel safe to incorporate into this kind of business with more ease, which promotes equity.

As a result of their business model, VEMO has developed an advanced data management technology known as Zero Emission Ecosystem (ZEE) to manage all necessary information about their fleets. The ZEE is now part of the company’s core and was developed as a result of the need to oversee operations in a more holistic way. They use ZEE to oversee their own fleets but sublet it to other fleet owners as well. Through ZEE, they can monitor the vehicle’s battery life, which accounts for most of the unit's cost; they can plan the logistics of charging stations to use them more effectively; and receive alerts and statistics about the vehicle’s status and drivers’ behavior at all times.

VEMO also partnered with Uber to put 1,200 electric vehicles on the streets in Mexico, each operated by 2.5 drivers on average. VEMO supplies its marketed fleet for Uber's use because Uber has pledged to replace combustion vehicles with electric vehicles in the following years. Together, they are actively working towards reducing the reliance on combustion vehicles and revolutionizing mobility on a larger scale.

ZEE screen example

Inspiration

VEMO leaders started the company as a combination of personal experiences, market trends and a vision for a more sustainable transportation system. The leaders of the company had some experience working with traditional transportation systems. These experiences motivated them to find an innovative solution to address the issues of traffic, pollution and accessibility. These were the main reasons for developing a new mobility focused company for the market.

Also, the company covers a whitespace in the market. They target urban areas with electric car transportation and provide to their customers affordable and sustainable solutions. VEMO leaders were inspired to make a solution to fight climate change and reduce carbon emissions through the service of transportation within cities.

Overall, VEMO’s value proposition enhances urban living through quieter cars, improving air quality and ensuring convenient travel options. Additionally, they prioritize creating meaningful and sustainable employment opportunities while offering solutions that promote financial inclusion.

Overall impact

VEMO, in its aspiration to be a transformative force in mobility, decided to offer their fleet management solution to similar companies to promote the use of electric vehicles, regardless if this action would increase the competition in the markets they operate. Thus, the company prioritizes the vision towards sustainability over the results of the business.

To increase their impact, they signed an alliance with Uber, the most important mobility platform in the world, with the purpose of introducing more EV’s into the streets and bringing this technology closer to the most people possible, increasing their day to day use.

VEMO, aiming to promote clean mobility and not only the use of electric vehicles, has gone beyond analyzing and measuring the emissions caused by the power grid they use to charge the vehicles. They currently measure CO2 emissions and know that electric vehicles still can negatively impact the environment because they still use both renewable and non-renewable electricity sources throughout their charging stations matrix. But VEMO is committed to change this and transition towards 100% renewable energy sources in the future. Today, to ensure that they minimize current emissions, the company purchases carbon credits to become a zero-emission enterprise.

VEMO encourages the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies and takes part in the ten principles of the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative, consistent with their sustainability goals.

Business benefit

Thanks to its partnership with Uber, VEMO reduced an average of 5,000 tons of CO2 emissions equivalent to planting over 250,000 trees, only through the pilot program of 250 EVs. This partnership has taken VEMO to other regions of Latin America, enabling Uber to introduce its “Comfort Electric'' service in Colombia with VEMO’s ZEE solution.

Additionally, VEMO recently purchased 11,000 carbon credits, equivalent to the same amount in CO2 emissions, from a company in Mexico which collects biogas generated in a dump to produce electricity; and from a social enterprise in Peru which fights deforestation through the strengthening of forestry technical skills.

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Social and environmental benefit

VEMO has emerged as a key supporting and enabling partner within the transportation industry, by providing a holistic ecosystem which can become the starting point for other players' adoption of electric vehicles and in general a more sustainable approach to business. VEMO is creating environmental and social benefits and as the company continues to grow, they will be able to exponentiate their positive impact.

Social Impact

• Improved accessibility: VEMO provides transportation accessibility by offering a high-quality experience to customers who use VEMO’s vehicles through Uber. People don’t have to be vehicle owners to be able to easily access comfortable transportation services. Through their alliance with Uber, customers can easily find a ride to different activities during the day while they make a positive impact on the environment as well.
• Traffic reduction: VEMO encourages the use of shared rides when using VEMO electric vehicles through Uber, which helps decrease heavy traffic and motivates riders to use cars with more than one customer aboard. This makes energy use more efficient while decreasing the number of cars on the road, hence reducing traffic in big cities.
• Job creation: VEMO helps battle unemployment as it creates jobs in the flexible economy. VEMO is focused on developing drivers through intensive and holistic training. Drivers have the opportunity to design their own schedules as income sources are flexible. The company also supports women's empowerment and develops different plans to have at least 50% of women as drivers. They also accommodate women drivers’ schedules during the day to provide a safer environment for them. All of this happens through a program called VEMO Conduce in which they give drivers all the needed tools and training that they require to provide a quality service while also guaranteeing a good income and healthy work conditions.
• Savings for individuals in the community: VEMO enables people to save money instead of spending it on buying a car. They help reduce the financial burden associated with car ownership, reduce parking costs and fuel spending. Instead, a customer uses one of VEMO’s electric cars only when they need it.
• New opportunities: They have a program called VEMO Impulso which leases vehicles for drivers of ride-hailing apps. This provides access to experienced drivers to acquire an electric vehicle and use it to drive and earn money. With this program, drivers can have a great source of income, a new car, enhanced security features, credits and vouchers, advice from VEMO and even life insurance, which improves their quality of life.

Environmental impact

• Emission reduction: VEMO is focused on using mostly clean energies. This contributes to improving climate conditions. The company only uses electric and hybrid vehicles in its fleet to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As a result, this decreases pollution and improves air quality in urban areas.
• Energy Efficiency: VEMO’s technology provides visibility of the vehicle's speed to know when a driver is driving over the operative limits. They also monitor the driving style of each one to be more efficient, which in turn causes a potential reduction of the emissions associated with their electric vehicles thanks to this system.
• Sustainability behaviors: VEMO continuously seeks to generate the least amount of emissions caused by using the power grid to recharge their vehicles. They acquire carbon credits from other positive impact companies to offset their negative impact.
• Promoting electric cars: VEMO has a program called VEMO EV Fleets to promote electric cars, they give fleets all the tools they need to enable the transformation of their cars to electric ones, they give them advice, access to charging stations and sublet their data intelligence ZEE to drive usage efficiency.

Interview

Armando Pérez Rendón, Chief Technology Officer