The cooperation agreement has been made public within the framework of the first International Eco Friendly Vehicle & Sustainable Mobility Show, opened today in the Spanish capital.
The multinational Daimler AG, represented in Spain by its subsidiary Mercedes-Benz España S.A., and ACCIONA, a Spanish company that is a world leader in renewables, have signed a cooperation agreement to promote emission-free mobility in the region of Madrid. The agreement consists of a pilot project, in which Mercedes will provide 42 ‘smart’ electric cars under the modality of renting to companies that wish to participate in the initiative, while ACCIONA will install the infrastructure for 121 charging stations, which it will supply with 100% renewable energy.
The agreement was signed today by José Luis López-Schümmer, President and CEO of Mercedes Benz España, and Carmen Becerril, President of ACCIONA Energy, at the International Eco Friendly Vehicle & Sustainable Mobility Show in Madrid.
José Luis López-Schümmer said that "in the last Frankfurt Motor Show, Daimler presented its new commercial strategy, which it calls The way towards emission-free mobility. It commits, together with its brands Mercedes-Benz and smart, to develop more efficient vehicles that care for the environment. The signature of the agreement will allow ACCIONA and Daimler to combine common interests to build a solid base for successful cooperation that is strategically strong, with the aim of responding to the demand from big cities: urban mobility free of direct emissions."
For her part, Carmen Becerril said that "as a leading company in sustainable development, ACCIONA is firmly committed to collaborating in the deployment of electric vehicles, providing an intelligent recharging infrastructure and supplying clean energy for new emission-free cars. This will also mean greater efficiency in the electric power system and a higher penetration of renewables. We are pleased with the agreement signed with Daimler; it allows us to complement our respective capabilities and represents a major step forward in our common objective of incorporating sustainability into the world of transport".
A four-year pilot project
The agreement envisages a pilot phase in the region of Madrid in which Daimler will contribute 42 electric models of the ‘smart’ and ACCIONA will install up to 121 charging stations. The initiative -with an estimated duration of four years- will be offered to companies (no more than ten) for use within the framework of their ordinary activity.
The charging stations will be located on the premises of these companies, the private address of people using the vehicles, and certain strategic points that the public will have access to.
Basically, the team set up to monitor the project will start the selection of the customers that will benefit from the use of the 42 smart electric drive cars, and it will also choose the best locations for the charging stations.
The charging infrastructure contributed by ACCIONA will be equipped in such a way that it can provide added value services such as the planning and advance reservation of charging stations, management of the process from mobile phones, and a diagnosis of the electric vehicle while it is recharging, among other functions. ACCIONA will also supply emission-free energy with a 100% renewable guarantee of origin accredited by the Spanish National Energy Commission (CNE).
Both companies will also carry out a study on the functionality of the system, in which they will analyse customer behaviour and the level of acceptance of the system, in order to evaluate the development of the business model.
Based on the results obtained in the study, both parties will evaluate the need (or not) to increase the number of electric cars for the project, and also the number of charging stations. If a decision is taken to increase the number of electric vehicles for the project, Mercedes-Benz will provide a maximum of 35 further cars of its Class A model (electric version).
