Phoenix Mobility : Accelerate and Simplify the Energetic Transition
Antoine Desferet
Antoine Desferet, co-founder of Phoenix Mobility, relays the history of the company, the accompaniment by Shake'Up, and his passion for innovation.
Tell us about the launch of Phoenix Mobility, where did the idea come from?
The idea to create Phoenix Mobility came from a problem of resources. We realized that there were 1 billion vehicles on Earth, and that at the same time, the transportation sector was responsible for 30% of CO2 emissions. This sector must therefore transition to a new form of energy.
So, we asked ourselves: what are we going to do with these billion vehicles? Are we going to scrap them or are we going to use them to make something new? And of course, we went for the second option, which is to use the existing resource by converting it to electric.
With my partners, we bought a used car to convert it. We removed the engine, the tank, and we put an electric motor, batteries, etc. And the car ran. Six months later, Phoenix Mobility was born, with a mission to make mobility cleaner and more accessible by becoming a new neo-builder.
What is the positioning of Phoenix Mobility?
At the beginning, we wanted to do B2C, with the idea of converting everyone’s vehicle. We quickly realized that the most interesting target for us was professionals. Their vehicles cost more than the average and gain value because they are converted vehicles, they are the most constrained by low emission zones especially in the city center, and they drive on average twice as much as private individuals. That means that by converting them to electric, our impact is twice as important.
For 2 years, you have been accompanied by Shake'Up, the start-up gas accelerator of Wavestone. What has this brought you?
We have had help at different scales. First of all, Shake’Up helped us in the structuring and in the strategic thinking about Phoenix Mobility. Wavestone consultants, some of them with experience in the automotive industry, have helped us to convert our vision into operational structures.
We were able to benefit from operational support, with very precise technical expertise subjects, like code issues to optimize the cybersecurity of our conversion kit.
And finally, we had commercial support, thanks to Wavestone’s connections with many companies, especially in France.
And now... what are your goals and future challenges?
Our main objective today is to move into the next stage of our development.
We opened our very first factory in January, with 1,500 m² of industrial space, and we now have 35 employees. We are signing contracts with major accounts and communities and our first vehicles are about to be delivered.
In the next few years, we aim to produce up to 2,000 vehicles on our own production line, 2,000 vehicles on another production line, and a network of partner garages, always with the mission of changing the mobility landscape.