Bangkok – Banpu NEXT, a subsidiary of Banpu Public Company Limited, and HAUPCAR today launched ‘Banpu NEXT EV Car Sharing’ as a full-fledged service for rental of FOMM electric vehicles (EVs) via HAUP mobile application. Building on the success of ‘Banpu NEXT EV Car Sharing for Caring’ project that offered EV car sharing to medical personnel during COVID-19 with free of charge, the new service reflects Banpu NEXT’s strength in EV business and helps drive the progress of smart mobility as a key element of smart city development. It complements personal mobility with greater convenience and addresses modern-day lifestyle of urbanites who are shifting more towards clean mobility and car rental by the hour. Banpu NEXT EV Car Sharing stands out as an easy, convenient and quick service for seamless and eco-friendly transport connection. To pilot the service in Bangkok’s central business district, its first flagship EV car sharing station has been established at Samyan Mitrtown to enable 24-hour car pick-up/return and charging. The launch was marked with a showcase of its EV fleet. Banpu NEXT EV Car Sharing plans to grow its FOMM EV fleet to 100 units within this year and set up EV car sharing stations in more locations across Bangkok metropolitan well as in provincial cities.

 

 

Mrs. Somruedee Chaimongkol, Chief Executive Officer of Banpu PCL. and Banpu NEXT Co., Ltd., said, “Banpu NEXT strives to meet the uptrend of clean energy through innovation and energy technology, in line with Banpu’s ‘Greener & Smarter’ strategy. We have therefore diversified to electric vehicle (EV) business as an integrated
EV fleet management service provider, including consultancy, provision of suitable EVs for each organization, and after-sales. Besides, we work with partners to offer mobility services, such as EV tuk-tuk via MuvMi mobile application. Most recently, we have partnered with app-based car sharing service provider HAUPCAR to introduce Banpu NEXT EV Car Sharing, a FOMM EV car rental via HAUP mobile application. With the system and service operations managed entirely by HAUPCAR, it is an alternative for more convenient mobility and coincides with sharing economy concept and the rising trend of eco-friendly products and services among young city dwellers. Noteworthily, this car sharing service will help drive the progress of smart mobility as an important part of smart city development while supporting our business partners who are Thai startups.”

 

“Banpu NEXT EV Car Sharing builds on the success of an earlier partnership in ‘Banpu NEXT EV Car Sharing for Caring’ CSR project,” she explained. “In this new partnership, Banpu NEXT addresses mobility needs of commuters by sourcing electric vehicle car from FOMM Corporation, a Japanese affiliated company of Banpu NEXT that designs and produces compact EVs. FOMM is a compact EV powered purely by clean energy, making it ideal for urban use. We have deployed a fleet of 50 FOMM EVs and we plan to grow it to 100 by the end of this year. In the first phase, Samyan Mitrtown has also support our service operation by allocating a space for our car pick-up/return service and charging stations.”

 

 

Mr. Krit Vichaiwatanapanich, CEO and Co-founder of Haupcar Company Limited as the service operator, added, “The extension of our partnership with Banpu NEXT, a leading smart clean energy solution provider in
Asia-Pacific, is regarded as an important move to enrich the car sharing service of HAUPCAR. Banpu NEXT have aptly sourced these EVs to fill the gap for our service expansion. Moreover, we appreciate the support of Samyan Mitrtown for allocating the space to build our first flagship service station on its property. Samyan Mitrtown is
a strategic location in Bangkok, being situated next to Sam Yan MRT station. It is also a favorite hangout of young people who are the primary target group of this service. To celebrate this tripartite partnership and build awareness of the official start of this service, we are bringing a fleet of more than ten FOMM EVs on show today.”

 

“Customers can use this car sharing service by the hour, by the day, by the week or by the month” he continued. “Booking can be done 24 hours a day with a few simple steps on HAUP mobile application. Picking-up and returning car are contactless. In addition to the service station at Samyan Mitrtown, our service locations can be found at U-Center Dormitory in Chula-Samyan area, CU Terrace Condominium, Too Fast To Sleep @Samyan,
KX Knowledge Exchange Building, FOMM Dealer by Megadisc at Planet Paint Sutthisan, and Punnawithi
BTS station (Exit 6). We believe that Banpu NEXT EV Car Sharing will inspire young people to shift more towards clean energy vehicles. With a confidence that it will receive an enthusiastic response from users in Bangkok, we plan to expand our coverage of the city and open new EV car sharing stations across Bangkok and its perimeter as well as in provincial cities.”

 

Ms. Thiranant Kornsritipa, Executive Vice President – Retail Business Development at Frasers Property Commercial (Thailand), the developer of Samyan Mitrtown, said, “The presence of EV car sharing service at Samyan Mitrtown will be another aspect of convenience offered to our visiting customers who may look for alternative transportation that fits better into flexible lifestyle of modern-day people. As a special privilege for Samyan Mitrtown customers, we are offering a discount code on our Mitr mobile application to be used for the car sharing service via HAUP mobile application. Samyan Mitrtown and our partners, HAUPCAR and Banpu NEXT, believe that users will enjoy the new mobility experience driving an emission-free, eco-friendly electric car provided by this Banpu NEXT EV car sharing service, which becomes operational from today onwards.”

 

“By combining the strengths of Banpu NEXT and HAUPCAR, this partnership brings about a convenient, quick and safe transport solution that coincides with the lifestyle of young city dwellers. Besides, it offers an opportunity for new-generation people to use a clean energy vehicle and help drive Thailand towards its smart city goals,”
Mrs. Somruedee concluded.