French startup Pelikan Mobility has been building an optimization platform and a leasing solution for commercial EV fleets. The company recently raised €4 million ($4.4 million) in a seed round from Pale Blue Dot, Frst, Seedcamp and others.

“We have developed a software solution to optimize fleet operations with electric vehicles,” co-founder and CEO Vincent Schachter told TechCrunch. “It’s not necessarily fleets that are completely electric—they’re generally not there yet. It’s diesel fleet operators who are starting to put electric vehicles into their fleets. We help them optimize the usage of vehicles according to their capacities.”

Pelikan’s software platform can automatically create various optimization scenarios that take into account charging times, pricing for diesel fuel and EV charging, range, parking space and more. It takes into account overall costs, including capital expenditures, which tend to be higher for EV fleets.

“These are long-term but very accurate scenarios,” Schachter said. “Once we have ingested the fleet’s operational data, we can build a digital twin. We simulate daily routes with different vehicle designs, different charging station scenarios, and so on.”

Pelikan’s platform is also designed to unlock new possibilities on the leasing front. Many companies lease their vehicles, and Pelikan says commercial fleet financing solutions are designed for legacy ICE vehicles.

“Leasing has been designed for private cars with internal combustion engines,” Schachter said. “Leasing contracts, even for commercial [EVs], end far too quickly. These are 3-to-5-year contracts, and the whole business is structured around the resale value of the vehicles. The good news is that electric vehicles last longer than diesel vehicles.” Longer contracts can lower the risks associated with resale values.

Pelikan Mobility currently has seven customers, with a collective total of around 100,000 vehicles. It expects to start offering its first leasing plans this summer.

Source: TechCrunch