New Zealand green fleet financing and advisory business, Carbn Group, has acquired electric mobility company Zilch.
The Carbn Group is acquiring Zilch’s technology, team, and assets, including its fleet and says all Zilch team members will remain on board, with further roles advertised to meet expansion plans.
The Carbn Group was established in July 2020 and is 92% owned by New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF), which is the New Zealand’s government green investment bank, established to accelerate investment to enable a low carbon future for the country.
Zilch, formerly Yoogo Share, was launched in Christchurch in 2018 with EV Public car sharing. The organisation expanded in 2020 to support businesses to decarbonise owned fleets using specialist tech and service called eMaaS. Zilch offers this service nationally.
Carbn Group chief executive Shaun Drylie says the acquisition is a big step forward, linking the financing and sustainability advice services of Carbn with the car-sharing technology and fleet management services of Zilch.
“This is a powerful combination that will speed up our shared purpose of transitioning New Zealand to low-carbon transport and greater optimisation, efficiencies, and reduced corporate and government fleet sizes,” Drylie says.
“As well as providing fleet technology, advice, and financing, we can now also provide EV car sharing services, making us a one stop shop for organisations looking to reduce their fleet emissions.
“This acquisition creates significant expansion opportunities for the Carbn Group and we look forward to expanding our partnerships, including with investors, who want to be part of this exciting future,” he says.
Zilch and Carbn Group have worked closely together since Carbn’s inception and have joint clients including ASB Bank, Genesis, and Xero.
“We’re rethinking the entire private and corporate car ownership model New Zealanders take for granted because it’s broken,” Carbn Group chairperson Samantha Sharif says.
“The reality is that having a fleet vehicle for every potential driver is not sustainable or a good use of resources. The work we’re doing is helping businesses operate more efficiently – and reduce their carbon footprint. A win/win for everyone,” she says.
Zilch co-founder Kirsten Corson (and incoming Chair of Drive Electric), says the sale of Zilch to Carbn Group will allow its early vision to be realised.
“We’ve always been at the forefront of pushing for a greener New Zealand, and with this sale, we know that Carbn will be able to accelerate this transition,” Corson says.
“I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved and built at Zilch over the past five years and we are pleased to be able to sell Zilch to a business that has shared values and we had a part in creating,” Zilch chief executive and co-founder David Jenkinson says.
This new chapter is not only an exciting step forward for our company but for Aotearoa as a whole,” he says.
