Regarding the results of the project, both Glovo and E-Mobility Rentals were happy with the emissions saving, but also with the couriers' response regarding the EVs they had at their disposal.

"We launched the project in August and so far, the results excite us. So far, we've integrated 49 electric vehicles in 10 Glovo fleets and couriers already surpassed 40 tons of saved CO2 emissions", E-Mobility Rentals officials say. The 10 fleets of vehicles are not yet fully electrified, they added, but they could be made of clean vehicles only in the future.

Glovo is one of E-Mobility Rentals' main partners and the couriers' activity that motorize the delivery service offer experts at both companies vital data for planning future partnerships, such as number of kilometers, battery swaps and used energy.

Glovo representatives also believe that this initial collaboration with E-Mobility Rentals is a success, one unique in the European Economic Area.

"For Glovo, yes, this is a project ran at a local level, in Bucharest. We have other similar projects in other countries where Glovo operates. In the EEA, we have ongoing projects with electric bicycles (Croatia and Montenegro), but Romania is the only country where we have this ongoing project with electric cars and mopeds" Glovo officials told Green Start-Up.

Electric vehicles, the joy of ever-moving couriers

The feedback from couriers was very important for both companies, as well, since they use these vehicles for deliveries. Electric mopeds, cars or the microvan, all were appreciated for the maneuverability, storage space, comfort and the range of the batteries, which can be refilled instantly, using an innovative solution.

Interchangeable batteries can be swapped at E-Mobility Rentals' stations, where they'll juice up until another operator comes to take advantage of them. This solves the problem usually posed by the high charging times and waiting for a free spot at a charging point.

So far, 4.149 swaps have been made at E-Mobility Rentals' 10 swapping stations located in Bucharest.

We tested the E-Mobility Urban Cargo ourselves and were very pleased with it. Maneuverable, spacious and with features more than adequate for a vehicle of this class, such as a back-up camera, you will have a lot of fun with it in Bucharest's traffic. Did we mention that it has tons of space for the most active of couriers?

We learned from Glovo that "we have 49 couriers that currently use the vehicles. We have very good feedback from them: greater maneuverability in the city, unlimited range with no charging downtime and unlimited assistance from E-Mobility Rentals."

E-Mobility Rentals vehicles can be equipped with up to three batteries, which offer a total estimated range of 180 kilometers, more than plenty for going around a city.

"Our microvan, specially-developed for deliveries, is a car designed to haul cargo around the city. It has a great cargo capacity of 1.4 cubic meters (1.400 liters) and two seats. The mopeds come in four models, also packing a universal, interchangeable battery, 100% original", E-Mobility Rentals experts added.

The team of the Romanian company takes care of everything couriers might need, such as instruction, maintaining the mobile application, as well as the vehicle themselves and the swap stations. Also, the insurance is covered by the company and in case of an accident, couriers will receive another vehicle to continue their activity.

The advantage of electric vehicles for faster, emissions-free deliveries

There are many advantages that electric vehicles, especially small ones, bear just like Glovo officials mention. Short-term, this includes less noise and more energy efficient vehicles, given lower maintenance and fuel costs.

We also learned that 24.894 liters of gasoline would have been consumed for the total distance of 248.940 kilometers, had it not been for the net-zero emissions vehicles in the 10 collaborative fleets that Glovo uses.

Another immediate benefit is the reduced noise levels, very important for urban areas, but also the comfort the vehicle offers to their operators, offering a smoother ride overall.

Long-term, among the advantages identified by Glovo we have the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, easier to respect future regulations, as well as better reliability, with lower repair costs.

E-Mobility Rentals added here that the market for Mobility as a Service (MaaS), with a value of 52.56 billion USD in 2019, could reach over 280 billion by 2027.

If we're talking about disadvantages, they don't really exist, since these vehicles are cheap to rent and operate, while the reliability and lower fuel costs are great high points.

According to E-Mobility Rentals, the only possible drawback we might think of is the lithium-ion batteries used to power these electric microvehicles, which can degrade in time. But these issues have been sorted by the company's experts, who made it so that these can be replaced at special swap stations. At the same time, the durability of the cells is increased, since these cells don't have to power super powerful vehicles.

"The cars are solid, so far, we had no technical issues, on the contrary, at one of the events we supported this year, called Nostalgia, the little cars surpassed their specifications and transported cargo over their recommended limit of 300 liters on uneven terrain, both during daylight and nighttime", we've been told by the Romanian mobility as a service company.

The fact that the batteries don't have to be charged, but rather swapped at E-Mobility Rentals' stations, is an important advantage for drivers, due to the fact that this eliminates charging times. Still, the stations themselves must have enough time at their disposal to juice the cells when no driver requires a swap and they are able to do that just fine, we've been told.

Thus, "the 10 swap stations we have in Bucharest handle the 100 vehicles that we operate more than well enough. The swap stations, that simultaneously charge 11 batteries, have been created by us. Next-generation technologies allow them to charge batteries with capacities ranging from 40 Ah to 120 Ah."

Glovo's green fleet in Romania and the future of the partnership

As per Glovo officials, in Romania, a third of the delivery vehicles are not motorized and the share of full electric vehicles is 10%. In Bucharest, half of the vehicles used for delivery are not motorized, while a third are electric.

For a delivery service with low environmental footprint and friendly with the community, Glovo permanently encourages the adoption of the least polluting means of transport.

The two companies want to continue this partnership to reduce emissions and to promote an eco-friendly urban transport solution.

"Our pilot project grew in the past three months, from 22 vehicles, to 49 today. This is a sign that the project works and the results are showing", E-Mobility Rentals representatives said.

"By the end of this year, we estimate that couriers will make 5.400 swaps, while driving for 324.000 kilometers with no emissions (for which they would have had to use 32.400 liters of gasoline) and they will save in the process around 73 tons of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere", they concluded.