EV leasing platform WeVee announces £5m seed funding

Electric vehicle (EV) leasing platform WeVee is now valued at $14 million (£10.1m) after its latest investment injection.

The investment is set to help support the global expansion of the eMobility platform and marketplace allowing it to broaden its service lines.

The EV price comparison and leasing platform, which launched in the UK in March 2020, closed a pre-seed round last week by a line-up of European angel investors, industry leaders and global tech entrepreneurs, said the company.

The backing was orchestrated by Rahmyn Kress and Michael Perschke, who join WeVee founder Paul Fagan (pictured) as co-founders and board members.

WeVee will first be launching in Germany later this year in a move which, according to Kress, is designed to support innovation and entrepreneurship between the UK and continental Europe.

This will then be followed by WeVee’s expansion into France, Italy and Spain in 2022.

Kress said: “We are building WeVee to be the Airbnb of e-mobility. The future of transportation is electric, and we will be the first solution for anyone who wants easy access to transportation they know is clean and good for society. There’s no better foundation to build this on than what WeVee has designed for EV leasing. 

“This ‘change of gear’ gives great momentum towards the mobility transformation needed.”

The current seed investment round will bring WeVee’s combined valuation to over $40 million.

The company said the platform’s offering will also diversify to include commercial vehicles, motorbikes, and scooters as well as related services including insurance.

Founded by leasing entrepreneur Fagan, the company said the platform has seen a surge in appeal rooted in its business-to-business-to-customer business model, which helps company car drivers capitalise on salary sacrifice schemes.

From April 2020, zero emission cars pay 0% company car tax, with the UK Government having committed to freezing rates at between 1-2% for the next five years.

The RAC has launched a new consumer leasing service to help drivers switch to EVs.

Demand for EVs has overtaken that of diesel-powered models for the first time in the leasing sector, according to Leasing.com.

In 2020, the European market captured around 43% of the global EV sales, compared to 26% in 2019.

Overall sales of plug-in vehicles reached 3.24 million units, compared to 2.26 million in 2019 and annual sales are projected to cross the five million mark by the end of 2025, accounting for 15% of overall vehicles, said WeVee.

Previusly, Perschke has held senior roles at Mercedes, Audi and Mitsubishi. More recently, he was the founder and CEO of Automobili Pininfarina and has been an angel investor in the sustainable transport and technology sectors.

He said: “WeVee is set to become a real game changer – if we build out the model as we intend to, we will help companies provide easy and cost-effective e-mobility solutions to their employees, as well as tracking and improving their carbon footprint.”