Ubeeqo

Ubeeqo, initially named Carbox, was established in 2008 by co-founders Benoît Chatelier and Alexandre Crosby. The founding idea emerged from the observation that personal cars in cities remain parked approximately 95% of the time, combined with a co-founder's negative experience with car theft. This led them to develop a more accessible method for hiring a car. The company began by targeting corporate clients, offering a car-sharing system to replace traditional service vehicles by placing shared cars at company headquarters. This business-to-business model proved financially sustainable, allowing the company to finance its vehicles through three-year corporate contracts.

The firm operates within the mobility and car-sharing market, serving both corporate and individual clients. For businesses, Ubeeqo provides solutions for fleet optimization, including dedicated corporate car-sharing fleets and mobility allowances as an alternative to company cars. For private users, the service offers a network of cars available for short-term rental, accessible 24/7 through a mobile application. This service operates on a round-trip, closed-loop model, where users pick up and return vehicles to the same location. The pricing structure for individuals includes hourly and per-kilometer costs, while the corporate solution typically involves a monthly fee.

A significant milestone occurred in January 2015 when Europcar Mobility Group acquired a majority stake in Ubeeqo, a move aimed at expanding Europcar's mobility offerings and supporting Ubeeqo's European expansion. Following this, Ubeeqo launched its public car-sharing service in December 2015 and expanded through acquisitions of Spain's Bluemove and Italy's Guidami in 2016. By 2017, Ubeeqo became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Europcar. As of June 2024, the service has been rebranded to Europcar On Demand. The company has a presence in major European cities, including Paris, London, Berlin, and Madrid.

Keywords: car sharing, mobility solutions, corporate fleet management, vehicle sharing, round-trip car rental, mobility as a service, Europcar On Demand, fleet optimization, urban mobility, B2B car sharing, consumer car rental, shared vehicles, mobile app booking, sustainable transport, alternative to car ownership, European car sharing, Benoit Chatelier, Alexandre Crosby, Carbox, fleet pooling