EDP Partners up with ‘guppy’ to launch the first car sharing service in Asturias | EDP España

‘guppy’, the first initiative of carsharing in the Northern Spain region of Asturias, is already in the pipeline. Its promoters, the Junquera Group, are concluding all the specifics for its launch, due on August 1st. EDP supports this pioneering service in Asturias, which will offer the public, for starters, 50 100% electric vehicles.

The presentation took place in the EDP recharge points located in the Polytechnic School of Engineering of Gijón. The Head of Innovation and Development of the Junquera Group, Pablo Campos-Ansó; and the responsible of Sustainable Mobility of EDP España, Javier Izquierdo, attended in representation of their companies.

“‘guppy’ will offer a new mobility service in Asturias which directly benefits anyone who wants to travel comfortably, economically and environmentally friendly. Just by downloading the application and registering, the system will make available to the user a fleet of electric vehicles they can use on the go. Also, you will only pay for what you use", said Campos-Ansó.

Javier Izquierdo remarked that "electric mobility is a priority for EDP, as evidenced by the more than 60 recharging points installed in the region. We will continue to develop infrastructure to guarantee back up to electric car users while travelling”. He also pointed out that “this innovative service is a symbol for electric mobility being already a palpable reality. Moreover, Asturias is one of the most dedicated communities to offering citizens pioneering services and an extensive recharging network”.

With ‘guppy’, any user of the service will have at his disposal, initially, a fleet of 50 Renault Zoe vehicles, 100% electric and with a real autonomy of more than 200 kilometers, to circulate freely throughout Asturias.

The cars can be picked up and returned in different areas, offering the possibility of travelling without having to return it to the same place. In Gijón, the drivers will have nine exclusive parking spots in the car park of Fomento, five in the Los Fresnos shopping center and another five in the Plaza Seis de Agosto carpark. In Gijón, users will be able to park them in the blue and white street parking areas too.

In Oviedo, ‘guppy’ users will be able to use spaces located in the Campus del Cristo, Salesas Parking, and in the parking area of the Los Prados shopping center. The town of Avilés has already shown interest so that this mobility solution allows the same free street parking as in Gijón. As for now, users will have at their disposal parking spaces near the facilities of ArcelorMittal, a company that collaborates with the project. ‘guppy’ will also have parking spaces and charging points in Intu Asturias, in Siero, and at the Asturias Airport.

The drivers will have a mobile application, available for Android and iOS systems, with which they can make a reservation for a vehicle, open it, finish the service and pay for it, among other features.

The agreement between the Junquera Marítima Group and EDP will promote this service, while offering advantages to users. Among them is the possibility of recharging, free of cost, in the more than 60 recharging points that EDP has set up in the region, which will soon increase with new operational points (www.edpmoveon.com).

It will also encourage cultural and touristic routes, since several of the recharging points where drivers can park and recharge the batteries of the vehicles are located in popular visitor areas such as Covadonga, Pola de Somiedo, Cudillero, Tapia de Casariego, Salinas or the beach of Rodiles.

EDP will also carry out the installation of exclusive recharging points for the ‘guppy’ fleet and will perform maintenance on them to guarantee its correct operation.

Electric mobility is growing at an exponential rate. The energy company itself has registered an increase of 90% in the recharges made between January and May this year, compared to the whole 2018 period. The recharges performed in the more than 100 EV recharge points EDP has in in Spain exceed 61,000 kWh, the equivalent to travelling more than 400,000 kilometers with an electric vehicle.

Electric vehicles have a 0% emissions gear and do not generate noise pollution. In addition, its efficiency is three times higher than that of combustion and, as for the price of recharging, the savings reach up to 90% compared to traditional cars.