Weeve cites “high demand” as the reason for adding 300 Polestar 2 vehicles

Rebranded Canadian electric vehicle subscription service Weeve is tripling the number of Polestar 2 vehicles available to its customers as it prepares to expand into Western Canada.

Weeve is a Montreal-based EV startup. It serves fleets and drivers working with on-demand taxi and delivery services, such as Uber, with the opportunity to use EVs on a subscription basis.

Since its launch, Weeve has grown its operations to include Ottawa and Toronto.

But now the startup is extending its reach into Vancouver. The move is prompting a significant boost in its Polestar 2 fleet quota to 450 from 150 vehicles.

“We have been experiencing high demand for the current Polestar 2 vehicles in our fleet,” said Léo Bouisson, co-founder and CEO of Weeve, in a press release sent to Electric Autonomy.

“These customers are looking for premium EV options and our entrance into the Vancouver market provides the opportunity to expand our fleet of in-demand Polestar 2 vehicles, ensuring on-demand taxi and delivery drivers have exciting, safe and reliable transportation.”

Weeve plans to have its 450 Polestar 2s spread across all cities it operates in by the end of 2024.

Weeve’s history

Weeve originally launched under the name Louelec in 2020. The company decided to rebrand last month as it continues expanding its business across Canada. It also plans to enter the U.S. market.

Bouisson explains to Electric Autonomy in an interview that “Louelec” translates from French to “rent electric.” Concerned that the French name might be a “tough sell” elsewhere in the country, Bouisson and his team changed it to Weeve, signifying “We EV,” to emphasize the company’s goal of providing clients access to EVs.

“Most importantly, what we wanted to do is to also rethink the company. We’ve always been very customer-centric, but we want to push more into that direction,” says Bouisson.

To cater to its customer base, Weeve offers various subscription packages and flexibility to meet different needs.

For example, Uber and Lyft drivers tend to prefer an all-inclusive package which covers all car-related expenses, says Bouisson. Fleet operators and delivery companies, on the other hand, value flexibility in adding or removing vehicles to their fleets. Some businesses may also prefer to use their own insurance policies, but want all other offerings.

“The idea of the rebranding was also to reiterate and improve the quality of our service so that we have an unparalleled product that we offer to the market,” says Bouisson.

In addition to its fleet of Polestar 2s, Weeve offers eight other electric and hybrid vehicles through its subscription program. These include the Ford Fusion Hybrid, Chevy Bolt EV, Bolt EUV, Kia Niro EV, Kona EV, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid and Tesla Model 3.

Weeve’s current fleet totals around 500 vehicles. Bouisson says that its goal is to expand the fleet to 1,000 vehicles.

EV rentals to rideshare

Weeve is not the only rent-to-rideshare option in Canada.

Car rental service provider Hertz Global Holdings has also partnered with Uber to offer EVs for rent to rideshare drivers.

However, recently, instead of expanding its EV fleet like Weeve, Hertz decided to sell off 20,000 EVs from its U.S. fleet. According to Hertz, this decision was driven by a combination of market factors and unexpected costs. It also marked a significant shift from Hertz’s previous goal of converting 25 per cent of its fleet to electric by the end of 2024.

Despite the reduction in its EV fleet, Hertz has assured that this move will not impact the availability of electric vehicle rentals for Uber drivers.

“Hertz has informed Uber that this sale is focused on consumer rentals and will not impact the availability of electric vehicle rentals accessible for drivers on the Uber platform,” wrote an Uber spokesperson previously in an email to Electric Autonomy.

In addition to its partnership with Hertz and Weeve, Uber also has an EV rental partnership with Autzu in Canada.