Carbn Group Holdings has acquired the brand and assets of collapsed car-sharing operator Mevo, with plans to relaunch free-floating car-sharing services initially in Wellington.
The acquisition comes just weeks after Mevo entered voluntary administration in March, despite completing a $3.28 million crowdfunding raise through Snowball Effect that had exceeded its $2.2 million target.
Carbn Group Holdings chief executive Shaun Drylie says the company recognised the importance of preserving and enhancing the car-sharing service when Mevo entered liquidation.
“Mevo provided a vital service for Wellington and in other centres, and when it entered liquidation, we recognized the importance of preserving and enhancing that service,” Drylie says.
“Carbn has the vehicles, infrastructure, and operational capacity to swiftly reinstate carsharing in Wellington, and we are dedicated to making it a permanent solution for the city’s transportation needs.”
The acquisition aligns with Carbn Group’s existing Zilch network of 20 shared-vehicle electric hubs across New Zealand’s major centres. Both Mevo Limited and Mevo Assets were placed into voluntary administration on March 30, with BDO’s Iain Shephard and Jessica Kellow appointed as administrators.
Reports suggested the administration was triggered after expected funding commitments failed to materialise on schedule, despite the successful crowdfunding raise that included a US$1 million commitment from an unnamed strategic institutional investor and $500,000 from Cypress Ventures.
Fleet and expansion plans
The Wellington relaunch will feature a fleet of Suzuki Swifts operating under the Mevo brand, with plans for national expansion and a broader range of electric vehicle types as the business develops.
Drylie emphasises the broader benefits of shared mobility beyond convenience, particularly for individuals without driveways, garages, or the financial means to purchase a vehicle outright.
“One shared electric vehicle travels 8-15 times more kilometres than a standard electric vehicle,” he says. “Furthermore, they address a key challenge in the EV industry: providing people the opportunity to experience driving an electric vehicle.”
Drylie identifies the experiential barrier as the primary obstacle to electric vehicle (EV) adoption rather than logical concerns.
“The primary barrier to EV adoption is not logical but experiential—many have yet to drive one,” he says. “Shared mobility addresses this, one trip at a time.”
Mevo was founded in Wellington in 2014 by Erik Zydervelt and Finn Lawrence, launching in late 2016 with Audi A3 e-tron plug-in hybrids. The company had expanded to operate across four cities including Hamilton, Auckland and Nelson, with a mixed fleet including Teslas, Polestars, and Suzuki Swifts before entering administration.
The company had secured early backing from Z Energy, which built a stake of up to 32 per cent, along with Ebbett Group and Icehouse Ventures, and received more than $1 million in Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority grants.
