Electric vehicles are seen as an important part of this country’s sustainable future, but right now many of them are prohibitively expensive. While EV makers like Tesla and Fisker are working on developing more affordable electric cars, one startup is working on bringing EVs to people who can’t afford their own car — through sharing.
Culver City-based startup Envoy has created an electric vehicle sharing platform that allows people to get access to EVs when they need them. On Thursday, the company announced that it raised $11 million in a Series A funding round as well as $70 million in debt financing. This $81 million in new capital will help the company as it expands to new markets throughout the country. It’s also hiring for a handful of open roles across the board.
Envoy partners with apartment complexes, offices and hotels to provide onsite access to a fleet of electric vehicles. This allows the people who live or work in these locations to get quick access to Envoy’s EVs when they need a set of wheels. And when they don’t, Envoy’s sharing platform makes it easy for others to reserve a car when they’re not in use. Another benefit of this onsite sharing model is that Envoy helps install EV charging stations at these locations, so car sharers won’t need to track down a charging station in order to use the car.
Envoy has also led projects to bring fleets of EVs to underprivileged areas, deploying EVs to residential communities in Sacramento, South San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area. Envoy has partnered with the California Energy Commission to select communities that are disproportionally burdened by pollution.
The company also offers all sorts of electric vehicles — from Fiats to Teslas — in order to provide options for different budgets and lifestyles. Right now, Envoy operates in 14 markets across 10 states.
“Envoy has built a strong foundation enabling properties to provide a valuable and essential in-house electric mobility service. Now, with our new partners and funding, we are poised to scale rapidly into new markets and continuously educate about electric vehicles and usage,” co-founder and executive chairman Ori Sagie said in a statement.
