VULOG, the European Leader in Carsharing Technologies, Closes a €8.4 Million Growth Capital Financing Led by the Ecotechnologies Fund and the Environmental Technologies Fund to Accelerate the Deployment of Its New Generation Carsharing Solutions

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Sep 21, 2015, 11:31 ET

PARIS, September 21, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

VULOG, the European leader in carsharing hardware and software solutions, announces the investment of €8.4 million of growth financing from the Ecotechnologies fund, managed by Bpifrance, and the Environmental Technologies Fund, a growth capital investment fund based in London. This funding will support VULOG's international expansion and strengthen its competitive position in the fast growing carsharing market

Based in Nice, VULOG (http://www.vulog.com ) was founded in 2006 by two INRIA (French Research Institute) engineers, Georges Gallais and David Emsellem, and develops innovative hardware and software end-to-end solutions responding to the mobility needs of individuals and companies alike. VULOG is recognized as a pioneer in new generation carsharing referred to as "free floating" (or "one-way"), offering no constraints of pick-up points and return stations, while eliminating the need for advance reservations. Users can therefore benefit from a flexible and on-demand mobility solution.

VULOG doubled in size in the year 2014 and has positioned itself as a leader on a market that is forecast to expand to over 600,000 vehicles worldwide and more than 30 million users by 2020^[^1]. The company is currently operating in Europe and North America in partnership with various carsharing operators: mobility providers, car rental operators, automobile clubs, fleet managers, Smart Cities, etc.

"This significant investment led by Bpifrance and Environmental Technologies Fund as well as the continued support from PACA Investissement, OPUS and CPG, long-standing investors in the company, illustrates the potential of our technology as part of the sharing economy and sustainable mobility. We aim to double our staff in 2016 in order to strengthen our Business Development and R&D teams. After opening our Paris office and our first office overseas in Vancouver in 2014, we plan to further expand in 2016 in North America and notably in Asia, where traffic congestion and air pollution are also becoming major issues in big cities. This funding provides us with the means to deploy our carsharing solutions on a global scale," explains Georges Gallais, co-founder of VULOG.

"Bpifrance is very enthusiastic regarding this investment. VULOG is a pionner in carsharing technologies and is a leading solution provider in this rapidly expanding market. We are positioning ourselves alongside the founders and the management in order to make VULOG the global leader in carsharing technologies and deploy on a global scale an expertise they have developed in France," explains Gilles Schlang, Senior Investment Director at Bpifrance Investment.

"Carsharing is transforming the automotive world; for many people, why even own a car when you only use it 5% of the time? What if you had, at any moment in time, wherever you may be, a vehicle available upon request via your smartphone and only had to pay for the time spent behind the wheel?" adds Fabrice Bienfait, Investment Director at Environmental Technologies Fund.