Stellantis’ mobility business, Free2move, remains in growth mode, adding EV charging to the portfolio with Free2move Charge.

The new business is a “360-degree ecosystem” that will essentially bring charging and energy management to electric vehicle owners, rather than them searching for places to get more juice. The offering is part of the new Stellantis Charging & Energy Business Unit.

“As the pace of mainstream EV adoption accelerates, our customers need us to be more than just a mobility provider,” said Ricardo Stamatti, senior vice president, Stellantis Charging & Energy Business Unit. 

“We are taking the lead in establishing a dedicated business unit that will support our bold electrification strategy and act as a natural extension of our iconic brands. Free2move Charge is the first product rolling out, exemplifying our purpose of delivering performance, value, sustainability and electrified mobility freedom for all.”

Always full

The idea behind the new business is boiled down to a simple pledge, the e-ABC Promise. It’s short for easy to Always Be Charged. The goal for the business to work with EV owners to ensure their vehicles are always charged and do so efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way. This should reduces the cost of ownership for users as well.

“Working with a Free2move e-Genius team, customers will be able to create a personalized package they can change and adapt at any time during the ownership experience, allowing it to evolve and always be tailored to their needs. e-Genuis support will be available first in Europe,” the company said in a release.

Stellantis notes Free2move Charge is a “key tool” in the company’s Dare Forward 2030 strategic plan that  has the company selling 100% of its passenger car sales being electric by 2030 and 50% in the U.S. by that time.

How it works

The new business is built upon three pillars for EV owners to utilize.

• Free2move Charge Home delivers private customers support with installation, financing and warranty of home charging and other energy hardware and services. Options can range from AC charging cables and wall boxes today to Vehicle-2-Home, Vehicle-2-Grid, and complete energy management systems with cutting-edge features like touch-free wireless solutions and inductive robot charging under development for future releases
   
• Free2move Charge Business tackles all hurdles as a one-stop-shop platform with a full suite of charging and energy services: early-on support, estimation of initial and future running costs, right-sizing of charging infrastructure, installation, maintenance and public charging access while on the go
   
• Free2move Charge GO guarantees seamless access to the largest possible curated network of public charging points through partners in North America and Europe, as well as other regions to be announced soon. In addition to access, payment and 24-7 support, Free2move Charge GO will progressively launch leading features like Plug and Charge, reservations, loyalty programs, subscriptions, prepaid packages, single invoice/billing and even deliver a charge to a requested location when needed

Free2move Charge will harness the power of the Stellantis Energy Cloud, seamlessly integrating with vehicle-branded mobile apps and the state-of-the-art STLA SmartCockpit platform launching in 2024 to deliver fast, intelligent routes and charging recommendations to customers based on their actual usage and needs, the company noted. 

Free2move Charge will guide Stellantis customers through an onboarding process to understand their individual needs, allowing for deep personalization and using AI learning to constantly improve its knowledge about the most convenient individual charging experience.

More growth

The EV charging unit is just the latest move by Stellantis in its expansion efforts of Free2move, which was created in Europe by PSA a few years ago. The company’s been adding more acquisitions to help enlarge its user base for its mobility unit.

Stellantis also acquired Share Now, positioning Free2move as a world leader in mobility with more than 6 million customers worldwide during the first half of 2022. It also announced global, multi-year agreements with Amazon and Qualcomm that will transform the in-vehicle experience for millions of Stellantis customers.

The agreement dramatically expands Free2Move in Europe as a major mobility player, bringing 14 European cities and 10,000 vehicles to Free2Move’s existing fleet of 2,500 vehicles in Paris and Madrid. The deal brings more than 3.4 million customers to Free2move’s existing 2 million users, according to Stellantis. 

Free2Move customers can rent a car for a few minutes, a few hours or a few days. If they keep the vehicle longer, the price automatically adjusts.

The deal contributes to Stellantis’ “Dare Forward 2030” plan to realize mobility service net revenues of $3 billion, or €2.8 billion, in 2030, increasing from nearly $740 million, or €700 million, in 2025.

Stateside, Free2Move’s car-sharing service is available in Washington, D.C.; Portland, Oregon; Denver, Colorado; Columbus, Ohio; Austin, Texas as well as Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, San Jose and Sacramento, California. Free2Move intends to have fully electrified fleets in Europe by 2030 and in the U.S. by 2035.

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• Source: https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2023/06/stellantis-expands-services-from-free2move-unit/