Latin American megacities as strategic hub of Greek electric car cab app ‘Beat’

Ordering a cab via an app is now standard practice. But the DS3 Crossback E-Tense electric SUV is a novelty when it picks you up.

It is already the experience of users of “Beat” in Santiago de Chile after the passenger transport platform launched “Beat Zero,” a mobility service with 100% electric vehicles and drivers for hire, last June.

“Beat” operates a cab and ride-hailing app for smartphones and other mobile devices. Beat’s headquarters are located in Athens, Greece, but its main shareholder is German, the largest taxi-hailing firm in Europe, Free Now, based in Hamburg and owned by BMW and Daimler.

Approximately 90% of the company’s ride-booking activity occurs in Latin America, where more than 250,000 drivers use the app.

Currently, the company operates in Greece, Chile, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, and Argentina.

The Greek-based app’s journey towards green mobility began in October 2020 in another megacity, Mexico City, with the launch of the “Beat Tesla” service and the addition of a fleet of Tesla 3s.

Then, in February 2022, “Beat” acquired a fleet of more affordable electric vehicles – the E J7s from Chinese manufacturer JAC – under the “Beat Zero” umbrella.

In Bogotá (Colombia), this service was launched last May with the EJS4 model from JAC and the BYD Yuan 400. According to La República newspaper, the Beat Zero fleet represents 15.8% of the electric vehicles sold in the Colombian capital in the first quarter of 2022, and in Latin America as a whole, 6% of all electric cars sold in the region in 2021.

“For Beat, the present and future of mobility can only be sustainable. That’s why more than a year and a half ago, we launched Beat Tesla in Mexico, which has the largest private Tesla fleet in Latin America, and more recently Beat Zero, already available in Chile and previously in Colombia and Mexico,” said Hans Hanckes, Beat’s VP Latam.

“Our commitment to improving urban life in modern megacities like Santiago has led us to be the first company in our country to offer such an electric service. Chile excels in the use of technology and has committed to being carbon neutral by 2050, but still sees electric mobility as something far away. That’s why we decided to [also] introduce Beat Zero here, to give people the opportunity to move without emissions and worry, and at affordable prices,” he adds.

The electric vehicle offer includes the purchase of electric vehicles and the construction of an infrastructure that ensures the energy supply and proper operation of these vehicles.

In the case of Chile, in collaboration with the electric charging infrastructure network “Copec Voltex”, the construction of the first charging infrastructure for more than one hundred electric vehicles exclusively for “Beat” was announced.

The charging station will be located in the Mall Plaza Los Dominicos (East Zone of Santiago) and will be unique as it will have three high-power dual chargers with a total of up to 150 kW, where up to six electric vehicles can be charged simultaneously.

“In Chile, we will reduce more than 2,000 tons of CO2 per year with Beat Zero, which is the equivalent of more than 140,000 trees,” says Hanckes.

In the Mexican market, “Beat” has already achieved good results with the electrification of its fleet. In its first year of operation, Beat Tesla saved more than 400,000 kilograms of CO2, the equivalent of 75,000 trees in one year. In addition, each electrified vehicle saves up to 7,000 liters of gasoline annually.

How many markets and electric cars will join Beat’s race? Well, users will have the final say. “The next steps will depend on the acceptance and results of our services in these megacities,” emphasizes Hans Hanckes.

As for rates, the company aims to democratize access with affordable rates that are between 20% and 30% cheaper than a premium app service. In Chile, for example, the minimum fee for this service is CLP 2,200 (US$2.45).

“The traditional model is still the cheapest service. It is followed by Beat Zero and then Beat Tesla. Nevertheless, it is a relatively affordable service for the value we offer, and the experience is fundamentally different from the traditional service,” analyzes Enrique Mendoza, general manager of Beat in Mexico.

TECHNOLOGY SITES FOR GROWTH

Last April, “Beat” announced opening a center for technological innovation and engineering in Mexico City, from which it will develop projects to reduce friction in the transport infrastructure of Latin American megacities.

It is the third center of the company, which already has a center in Athens, the headquarters of the company, and another in Amsterdam, where, despite having its own offices, it is considered essential to have a center in Europe.

“This is the first time that a technology center is opened in Latin America, where we mainly operate, and it is also a big bet of the company that we can rely on local talent to solve problems that arise and are developed in the region,” says Enrique Mendoza.

With information from Latina Press

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