Denso has taken a stake in Envoy Technologies, an electric vehicle (EV) start-up based in Culver City, California, offering mobility services to the commercial real estate (CRE) industry.
Through the investment, Denso aims to create new revenue streams by offering the benefits of Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) to businesses.
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Founded in 2017 by real estate and tech entrepreneurs, Aric Ohana and Ori Sagie, Envoy partners with CRE industry leaders to offer on-site mobility services such as electric carsharing and EV charging for apartments, offices and hotels.
Envoy’s Mobility as an Amenity service is a turn-key solution, which includes technology to reserve and access vehicles, driver insurance, maintenance and electric vehicle chargers.
The company has experienced record utilisation amounting to more than 1.25m electric miles driven. Envoy is currently available in ten States and 14 markets in the US.
“Early on, we realised the world’s transition to electric mobility will significantly impact our built world,” said Ohana.
“With investors like Denso, along with others from commercial real estate, mobility, and energy, we are poised to accelerate that transition sustainably.”
By taking a stake in the company, Denso will strengthen Envoy’s ability to propose and implement mobility services, identify the requirements and functions of vehicles used in EV carsharing services and create new business models that link commercial properties with mobility.
“As mobility needs change, Denso continues to change along with them,” added Denso senior executive officer, Yoshifumi Kato.
“Collaborating with Envoy allows us to combine our expertise in electrification and fleet management with their knowledge of commercial real estate, helping us both improve mobility for businesses so they can accomplish their goals more seamlessly.”
Denso has been focused on the MaaS market and it is a key part of the company’s Second Founding, a shift which has pushed the supplier into new mobility areas. In support of this, Denso has built partnerships in and outside Japan to meet the needs of an array of mobility providers.
These have included taking stakes in MaaS Global, a Finland-based developer of Whim, the world’s first full-fledged MaaS service and Bond Mobility, which offers micro-mobility services in urban environments.
Denso continues to seek additional partnerships and innovations in MaaS.
