Newav, a start-up that wants to adapt electric vehicles to people with disabilities

Les fondateurs de Newav. À d., Charlotte de Vilmorin. DR – DR

La start-up française Newav développe un véhicule électrique nativement accessible aux personnes en situation de handicap, en répondant au défi technique des batteries dans le plancher. Elle propose également le premier service de leasing pour véhicules aménagés en France.

Europe has more than 5 million people in wheelchairs. In this context, the start-up Newav, co-founded by Charlotte de Vilmorin, is tackling a challenge rarely addressed by the innovation sector: making the transition to electric mobility accessible to people with reduced mobility.

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The company is developing a unique solution to a major technical problem: the impossibility of adapting electric vehicles for people in wheelchairs, due to the presence of batteries in the floor. “Today, when you want to adapt a Kangoo, you have to throw 40% of the car in the trash. An absurd situation” explains the manager. The start-up is working with a car manufacturer, whose name it jealously keeps secret, in order to design with them a natively accessible electric vehicle. To design this innovative vehicle, engineers worked on a completely flat floor, from front to rear.

An Innovation for Inclusive Mobility

Newav's other innovation concerns financing. The company launched Abiliz, the first leasing offer for adapted vehicles in France, while disabled people were previously excluded from this method of financing. Banks refused their applications, worried about the difficulty in assessing their solvency and the risks of early return of the vehicle for health reasons.

The project appeals to European investors with its dual environmental and social dimension. “People are all very surprised and shocked to learn that the electric car that we imagine and that we are in the process of massively deploying is a step backwards for the mobility of people in wheelchairs”emphasizes the co-founder.

Leasing finally accessible to people with reduced mobility

The accessible electric vehicle developed by Newav is planned to be marketed in the coming years. In the meantime, the start-up already offers its leasing solutions on converted thermal vehicles via its website, with two options: long-term rental that includes maintenance, and rental with the option to purchase.

The founders of Newav have solid experience in the sector. Thus, Charlotte de Vilmorin was already an entrepreneur in the field with Wheeliz, a platform for renting converted vehicles between individuals.

Beyond disabled people, the inclusive mobility solution proposed by the start-up could also appeal to the elderly, whose numbers are constantly increasing, but also to ambulance drivers or large families looking for space and modularity.

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