EVmo provides drivers with the vehicles they need to earn money in the gig economy

• Rents cars to rideshare drivers with no long-term contracts
• Takes care of insurance and maintenance and gives riders flexibility to change vehicles
• Provides a platform for auto fleet operators to rent their cars

What EVmo does: 

EVmo Inc (OTCPINK:YAYO), formerly YaYo Inc and RideShare Rental Inc, acts as a bridge between drivers, who need cars in order to work for companies like Uber and Lyft, and auto fleet operators who want to rent to the rideshare market.

The company rents to rideshare drivers and takes care of auto insurance and maintenance. For fleet operators, the company provides an online platform on which they can rent their vehicles. 

EVmo offers daily, weekly and long-term rentals in major cities including Oakland, Los Angeles, Seattle, Las Vegas, Chicago and others, with more expected in the coming months. 

Electric vehicles (EV) are a priority for EVmo, particularly after Uber and Lyft both announced plans to go entirely electric by 2030. Not every driver has an EV, which makes renting from EVmo a viable solution. 

Drivers can use EV charging stations at EVmo locations, or even swap into another car entirely. 

The company also operates an ambassador program, through which drivers can earn a 10% discount for referring others. That stacks up, so it’s possible to rent a car for free with enough referrals.

How is it doing:

In several markets, EVmo is experiencing greater than 95% utilization of its vehicles, the company said, meaning most of the vehicles it receives are rented to drivers within a short period of time, who in turn can drive for Uber, Lyft, Grubhub, Postmates, and others.

In May, EVmo reported record first-quarter 2021 revenue of $2.3 million, up 31.3% year-over-year, as the percentage of EVs in its managed fleet grew to 14% during the period.

The company also generated a gross profit that was 57% higher than 1Q 2020 and expects its gross margins will expand significantly in 2021 as the company substantially increases its fleet and transitions to an EV model.

A month earlier, EVmo posted revenue of $7.6 million for 2020 as a whole, a company record, and said it rented the highest number of vehicles in its history, including 40 recently deployed EVs. The Los Angeles-based firm also jumped into the last-mile logistics space, adding high-roof cargo vans for delivery.

As 2021 progresses, EVmo anticipates revenue of $1,700 per month per additional EV and $1,400 per month per additional cargo van deployed. At the margin, every $10 million in debt and or equity capital raised should enable the company to purchase approximately 4,041 vehicles with an 85%/15% Tesla EV to van mix. 

To that end, the company said it took delivery of its first fleet of Tesla vehicles on March 25 through its fleet partnership agreement. The plan is to go all-electric by the end of 2021.

EVmo also underwent a leadership change this year. On March 3, then-CEO Ramy El-Batrawi, acting through his holding company X LLC, completed the sale 6 million shares of stock to Acuitas Group Holdings LLC, giving Acuitas a controlling stake.

Acuitas Group’s sole owner Terren Peizer has become executive chairman of the company’s board of directors, which has been expanded from five to seven members, while former board chair Stephen Sanchez is now serving as CEO.

Looking ahead, a major priority for the company is uplisting to the Nasdaq exchange.

Inflection points:

• Expansion into additional markets
• EV purchases to go all-electric
• New leadership hitting the ground running

What the boss says:

New CEO Stephen Sanchez believes 2021 will be a major year for EVmo and for electric vehicles.

“We are on a mission to rent every car every day and provide excellent service in the process, and we are committed to an environmentally friendly user platform,” Sanchez said in an April statement. “We buy right, maintain high utilization through our maintenance excellence program and forge key strategic relationships to drive our environmental and economic initiatives. Our plans are bold and aggressive, and 2021 should be a banner year for EVmo.”

Contact Andrew Kessel at [email protected]

Follow him on Twitter @andrew_kessel

Story by ProactiveInvestors