2021年9月20日

Save(彭博社)—共享出行概念的先驅之一蘇尼爾·保羅(Sunil Paul)將成立一家新公司，他希望這家公司能幫助鼓勵人們采用電動汽車。(彭博社)——共享出行概念的先驅之一蘇尼爾·保羅(Sunil Paul)成立了一家新公司，他希望這家公司能幫助鼓勵人們采用電動汽車。這項名為Spring Free EV的業務，旨在解決普及電動汽車的最大障礙之一:高昂的前期成本。保羅說，通過提供融資和按使用裏程收費，Spring Free的做法應該會使電動汽車的成本與耗油的同類汽車持平或更低，尤其是對裏程高的駕駛者而言。對這家初創公司的首批客戶——車隊經理——來說，價格平價至關重要。車隊經理大量購買汽車，他們在消費汽車共享和拚車平台上看到了對電動汽車的強勁需求。Paul與Martin Lagod和Cassandra John共同創立了Spring Free EV，他們有一個雄心勃勃的第一個目標——到2030年將二氧化碳排放量減少10億噸。這意味著全球電動汽車的數量將從目前的1億輛增加一倍，達到2億輛。《2020年彭博電動汽車展望》預測，到2030年，路上的電動汽車將達到1.16億輛。達到2億並不容易，但保羅認為減緩全球變暖是必要的。關鍵是降低價格。 Paul says that even within the first five years of ownership, the total cost of a Tesla Inc. Model 3 is lower than a Toyota Camry or BMW 3 Series. Tax credits and economic incentives further reduce the total cost of electric options. Backed by a slew of high-profile investors and entrepreneurs such as Ev Williams, Reid Hoffman, Mark Pincus and Marianne Wu, Spring Free EV contracts with electric car manufacturers including Tesla and Nissan Motor Co. to acquire the cars in bulk. Spring Free then supplies the electric vehicles to small and medium-sized fleet managers who pay based on the mileage purchase agreement. Spring Free EV has plans for quick expansion. The company has already deployed 200 vehicles with fleet managers in six states, including HandiFleet in Texas, Flux in California, and Island Rides in Florida. Two to six fleet managers are signing up every week, and Spring Free has plans to be in 20 states by the end of 2021. The company is only going to have an impact on the climate if it’s “insanely successful,” Paul says, and gets other companies to use the same approach. “I have been copied a lot of times in my career, but nobody wants to copy you if you aren’t successful.” Spring Free is Paul’s second venture into the automotive business. In 2011, he co-founded the ride-sharing company Sidecar Technologies Inc., which created one of the first apps to try ride-destination tracking, discounted carpooling, and deliveries that placed people and packages on the same route. Paul hoped to have a positive environmental impact by making transportation more efficient. But four years later Sidecar was squeezed out by its better-known, better-funded rivals Lyft Inc. and Uber Technologies Inc. Sidecar also didn’t live up to its original climate goals. Ride-sharing proved to be even worse for the environment, with each trip causing about 69% more greenhouse gases than the one it displaces , according to a report last year by the Union of Concerned Scientists. Paul knows he can’t put the genie back in the bottle, but he’s hoping that Spring Free EV can help mitigate global warming. “Can I take something I was totally wrong on and make it something where I was totally right?” he asks. The next category of customers for Spring Free after fleet managers would be high-mileage drivers, such as delivery service providers, gig workers, and, of course, ride-sharing. “Ride-sharings have failed the climate and they also represent a great opportunity to help the climate. They are the best target to go electric,” Paul says. ©2021 Bloomberg L.P.