Carzaam Automotive News Episode 13: AutoFi - Amaze - Influencers
BMW i Ventures announced today an investment in AutoFi.
We start with AutoFi, which is a company I have had my eye on for a number of years now, it is a platform that basically allows car buyers to purchase and finance a car online and the team have announced a new funding round to be led by BMW iVentures.
Now thanks to AutoFi’s deep integrations with financial institutions, customers can submit simple credit applications and get instant decisions, which increases engagement, conversion and F&I penetration for dealers.
Baris Guzel of BMW i Ventures said he was “convinced that AutoFi has the potential to be the industry standard checkout for all automotive transactions.” Which would be massive if they can pull it off.
BMW I Ventures will lead a Series B financing round that AutoFi will use to expand sales and customer support and continue its rapid pace of product innovation. Cant wait to see how they end up.
Mobility as a Service (MaaS) to the business district of Zuidas.
A consortium of four developers (Over Morgen, Amber, Radiuz and Transdev) have created the Amaze app to give commuters a smarter alternative to driving a car to and from their workplace.
Amaze will combine public transport with shared mobility, including car sharing, ride hailing and bikes, in a bid to cut congestion and pollution which is expected to increase in the coming years due to a major construction project in the area.
Rather than get caught up in traffic jams, the MaaS platform will allow customers to “plan, buy and pay for trips ahead of time” said Diederik Basta, Project Manager for Smart Mobility, City of Amsterdam.
Amaze is scheduled to last for two years and the aim is for the app to create personalised daily recommendations for the best way to travel, based on the individual commuting habits of employees.
The launch of the app follows a successful MaaS pilot project in Zuidas, which challenged Amsterdammers to give up their cars for two months in return for a monthly transport budget of €250.
The pilot found that the MaaS triallists did not spend all of their travel budget within a month, typically using free modes of transport like cycling and walking, and one-third of them gave up their cars forever at the end of the experiment.
GlobalData Reveals Top Ten Mobility as a Service Influencers in 2019
An analysis of GlobalData’s Mobility as a Service (MaaS) Influencer Platform, which tracks over 200 leading global mobility experts on Twitter, has revealed Cities Today, a news platform on urban mobility and innovation, as the top influencer during the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2019.
Smart Mobility, a Twitter account representing industry events was ranked second and AUTONOMY, the Twitter account for the Autonomy & Urban Mobility Summit, was ranked third.
Over the quarter under review, ‘Micro Mobility’ emerged as the most prominent trend among the mobility experts, followed by ‘Urban Mobility’ and ‘Smart Mobility’.
For a full list of the Top Ten Mobility as a Service Influencers, their twitter handle and a summary of their account, check out the full blog at: www.carzaam.com/post/episode-13-autofi-amaze-influencers
