D'Ieteren steps into B2B bike leasing and taxi business

Through its subsidiary Lab Box, Belgian car importer D'Ieteren is expanding its investment in mobility solutions. In Brussels, the Belgian company has taken over the group Taxis Verts while in Ghent, it has invested in Joule, a young enterprise specialising in B2B and B2G leasing of bikes.

D'Ieteren, best known as the importer of all the brands from the VW Group in Belgium, is putting its start-up incubator Lab Box through its paces. Adding to its car-sharing platform Poppy, leasing of second-hand cars Lizy, MaaS solution Skipr, EV Charging infrastructure EDI and bike retail chain Lucien is now a taxi service and a corporate bicycle leasing formula.

With the take-over of Brussels based Taxi Verts the group is joining the fierce battle in taxi services. Ambitions are to expand the presence of the taxis to other Belgian cities and become the largest in the country.

D'Ieteren wants to digitalise and electrify the current fleet, comprising 600 cars with currently some 40 pluggable. The company says it regards taxis as a form of transportation that will play its dedicated part in the future of our mobility. Clearly, digitalising the experience will give Taxis Verts a more competitive arm's length towards Uber.

Full operational bike lease

Lab Box has also made an investment of €1 million in Joule, a start-up founded in 2018 that offers full bicycle fleet leasing for companies and governments. Joule has almost 250 bicycle types in its portfolio, bought directly from the manufacturers, and takes care of the full operational follow-up. Accessories are included, and the bikes are delivered on the doorstep. The company also has a mobile servicing unit and doesn't impose volume demands. Small companies can already lease 1 bike for 36 months.

D'Ieteren is now the majority shareholder in Joule and will scale up the business. The management team for Taxis Verts and Joule remain in place to carry out the expansion plans.

Image Source: D'ieteren