Paris/Denkendorf, 03.15.2022 – Following the conclusion of partner agreements in March 2022, the two pioneers of electric mobility REV Mobilities and pepper motion GmbH now want to bring the retrofitting of commercial vehicles in OEM series quality to France in the short term. With this first German-French cooperation in the field of retrofitting, pepper is addressing one of the strongest bus and truck markets in Europe with high potential. The pepper market strategy for France was presented at a press conference in Paris on March 15, 2022 with representatives from the authorities and politics. A valuable impetus for the use of retrofitting solutions in the commercial vehicle sector will be provided by the first subsidy program for alternative drives recently presented by the French government. By 2030, pepper plans to sell around 5,000 electrified buses and trucks larger than 7.5 t on the French market in cooperation with REV.
Sustainability and Decarbonization
As a winner of several international awards for innovative technologies already available in series quality, pepper offers electrification solutions for used commercial vehicles with its etrofit kits, helping them to an environmentally friendly, emission-free second life – and keeping them at the cutting edge of electromobility technology.
Sustainability and decarbonization is accelerated to a new level with the retrofit approach for the transport sector. The outstanding record in terms of economic efficiency and resource-saving environmental and climate protection for meeting the EU’s CO2 targets with the Clean Vehicles Directive (CVD), which has been in force since summer 2021, is unattainable for new electric and diesel vehicles. At the same time, these are already pressing issues in French transport and climate policy and among transport operators and fleet managers. The social trend towards more environmental awareness and re-use instead of recycling enjoys maximum support with pepper’s state-of-the-art technology. REV has a name for this: Upcycling.
Strong Partnership
Arnaud Pigounides, founder and CEO of REV Mobilities: “France has an opportunity that could not be missed: with an entire existing fleet of 40,8 millions vehicles (98% thermal diesel or gas), Retrofit for commercial vehicles is the only solution that can help reducing Green House Gas quick, and help our customers to enjoy their vehicles longer and cost effectively. Together with pepper motion, we aim for converting at least 5.000 zero-emission buses and trucks in France till 2030. It’s good for companies and budgets, good for circular economy, good for cities and countryside air. And on top of that, good for our wellbeing with less noise in urban and suburban areas.”
“As part of our internationalization strategy, the French market has high priority for pepper,” says Andreas Hager, CEO of pepper motion GmbH. “pepper is already active in other European countries such as Poland, Italy, Austria, and Bulgaria. As a technology leader, we are convinced that our innovative solutions – in close cooperation with our new partner REV Mobilities – will enable us to offer French policymakers as well as all transport companies and fleet operators a fast and cost-efficient way to achieve the mobility transformation towards zero emissions.”
High Market Potential
As of 2021, there are around 95,000 buses (city buses and coaches) with an average age of 7.1 years and approximately 580,000 trucks >3.5 t with an average age of 7.2 years in use on France’s roads. A perfect vehicle age, therefore, to give existing vehicles an economical extension to their service life as an environmentally friendly electric vehicle with a conversion.
The first pepper retrofitting solutions available for the French market are the Mercedes-Benz Citaro C1 and Citaro C2 bus models and the Mercedes-Benz Actros and Atego truck models, which are designed for trucks weighing more than 7.5 tons. Further models such as the IVECO Crossway for inter-regional public transport as well as additional truck models are planned for 2023 and beyond, in cooperation with REV in France.
pepper believes that the French market has similar potential to the German market. The law to legalize the conversion of passenger cars, co-initiated by REV Mobilities founder Arnaud Pigounides, provides the foundation for this. A recently announced government subsidy for the electrification of heavy commercial vehicles now offers additional incentives: “We are pleased to initiate further support programs for the electrification of the commercial vehicle sector together with our partner REV Mobilities and in close cooperation with policymakers in France, and to develop commensurately essential catalogs of criteria on the quality requirements for retrofitting. The aim is to meet the European Union’s decarbonization targets and comply with the internationally recognized ISO 26262 standard for functional safety in the automotive industry,” say Pigounides and Hager, the major promoters of a zero-emission and sustainable commercial vehicle sector, highlighting their short-term goals.
A public transport offensive is already planned for the second quarter of 2022. REV Mobilities and pepper are currently planning a nationwide roadshow with the etrofit bus lasting several weeks and traveling to the most important regions of French public transport in order to rouse enthusiasm for the highly efficient technology and to break down still widespread prejudices against electromobility. Interested local authorities, fleet and bus line operators may write to: contact@peppermotion.com
Award-Winning Technology
Purely battery-electric drive systems are ideally suited for applications in personal and commuter traffic in urban areas. Developed according to OEM standards, pepper’s series solutions enable a rapid switch to zero-emission transport. As a manufacturer and developer, pepper electrifies its customers’ own vehicles, provides conversion companies and OEMs with complete etrofit kits, or end customers with already converted vehicles.
From the battery, electric motor, auxiliary components, and control unit with system software developed in accordance with ISO 26262 for functional safety, to the telematics interface to the (existing) vehicle, modular and fully validated complete packages are available. The technological heart of the drive system is the company’s own system architecture software. The battery capacity of the electric drive system can be scaled up, from the smallest version with 120 kWh to 720 kWh net, depending on the application scenario.
Meanwhile pepper has started to work on Hydrogen technology and REV-pepper cooperation will also extend to this technology for some specific applications in future.
About pepper motion GmbH:
pepper – electrifying transportation! The German, privately financed company with headquarters in Denkendorf and offices in Garching near Munich employs almost 100 people.
As the first digital OEM worldwide (without its own warehousing and manufacturing), pepper offers innovative solutions for the electrification (retrofitting) of used and new commercial vehicles such as trucks in distribution transport, buses in local public transport (LPT), and municipal vehicles. pepper is ISO 9001 certified and as such is the only supplier of conversion solutions to ensure operational safety according to international automotive industry standards such as ISO 26262 for functional safety. A network of international partners guarantees service and availability across Europe.
With its holistic approach to telematics, charging infrastructure, fleet management and autonomous driving, the company designs quickly implementable and cost-efficient solution packages for sustainable mobility transformation and a “second life” for existing commercial vehicles. They effectively support the implementation of the CO2 reduction targets in accordance with the European Green Deal Agreement and the Clean Vehicles Directive, active as of summer 2021.
pepper was awarded the German Mobility Prize (2018) and the Austrian VCÖ Mobility Prize (2019), as well as being voted one of the top 50 start-ups in Europe in the field of mobility (2020, EUSP).
The subsidiary pepper motion Austria GmbH, based in Vienna, is the pepper Group’s software development center. pepper is represented with further sales locations in Italy, Poland and Bulgaria.
Press contact:
360°communications GmbH
Email: peppermotion@360communications.de
Phone: +49 89 5436994 00
About REV Mobilities:
REV (SAS RETROFUTURE ELECTRIC VEHICLES) is a mission-led company with an innovative circular economy activity (Upcycling), which promotes the decarbonisation of mobility through electric battery and hydrogen retrofitting, in France and in Europe. REV Mobilities designs and deploys modular, economical and highly secure electrical conversion solutions, applicable to the entire French and European fleet, providing a new cleaner life cycle for vehicles over 5 years old, with very high quality and service. With its Retrofuture (for old electric vehicles), REV Professional (for utility vehicles and fleets), REV Hydrogen (for Hydrogen innovation) and REV Bus & Trucks (for heavy duty vehicles and buses), REV is the leader in retrofitting in France, whether online or with major decision-makers.
Press contact:
Agence VLC
Valérie LESEIGNEUR
Email: valerie@agencevlc.com
Phone: + 33 (06) 68 80 37
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