Episode 7 – From Zero to Launch: Montreal Carsharing

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Vulog is launching Leo Carsharing, a brand-new carsharing service in Montreal! We are teaming up with a local dealership group to bring Montrealers a smarter, more convenient way to get around. We want to bring you along for the ride with an exclusive, first-of-its-kind series that takes you behind the scenes to show what it really takes to build a successful carsharing service from the ground up.

Last week, we shared Leo’s brand and logo origins, as well as the marketing plan that the company is building in order to attract and keep users active on the Leo platform. This week, we are breaking out the polishing kit and going over our vehicles with a fine tooth comb in the final readiness preparations before the official launch on May 12th! 

Part of the Leo fleet, ready and raring to go

Anatomy of a Carsharing Vehicle

Of course, the most important thing to finalize in terms of readiness is the vehicle fleet itself. We’ve shown you the sleek, fancy look of the Leo-branded cars, but let’s step behind the scenes and examine the steps that go into making that car ready to hit the road. 

Inside the car, the compartments and storage areas all need to be cleared out. These may be new vehicles, but any paperwork, technical documentation, or manufacturer and/or dealership items need to be stored safely on Leo’s side. Meanwhile each vehicle needs to get its Vubox hardware installed which is responsible for the telematics. 

On the outside of the car, the Leo logos need to be applied, as well as the parking vignettes from the City of Montreal that allow each car to park on the city streets. One of the most uncontrollable factors is the unpredictability of the weather, which affects how well we can work on applying the stickers. To compensate, we’ve had to build plans A, B, and C, to work outside, under tents, or under a roof, depending on the forecast.

We were able to work together with our dealership partner, Groupe MHT, to store vehicles temporarily during this process.

One Down, Five Hundred and Ninety Nine To Go

All in all, the clearing, installation, and application of the internal and external components takes about 40 minutes of work per vehicle. Now multiple that by 600 vehicles, and you can understand the scale of this effort. The big issue comes with maintaining accuracy and efficiency through repetition. We need the space to park scores of vehicles at a time, and work on each one down the line. Thankfully we were able to work with our partner dealerships to store the fleet on their lots during installation which we worked to finish as soon as possible. 

In order to make sure everything remains well organized and uniform, we ensure that everything that goes in one single vehicle gets placed inside each one before work begins. With everything mise en place, our team can dedicate their attention to the tedious process without worrying which parts go to which car. 

Each vehicle has its individual pieces placed inside before work begins in order to prevent any confusion during the repetitive tasks.

Get Ready, Set, Leo!

After the cars have all their component pieces attached, they are ready to go – almost. The last challenge is delivering the vehicles into the city proper. It would be way too inefficient to drive each one away, so we’ve been moving them by the truckload – dispatching and delivering them to preselected locations around Montreal where they will soon be precisely positioned where Leo drivers can get a hold of them. 

Once everything is in place, the team will begin with a soft launch over the weekend in order to have a few days’ grace before the official launch on May 12th. During the soft launch, the team can work on catching any last-minute things that may have slipped by including technical corrections or bug fixes on the platform. It also gives them a chance to get familiar with the live operations of the company and work through the first day’s nerves before taking on the grand opening on Monday.

Next Time on From Zero to Launch: Montreal Carsharing 

If you live in Montreal, the next time you see Leo Carsharing may be from the driver’s seat! Be ready for the official launch on May 12th by pre-registering today! But for everyone else, join us again next week as we share the latest insights from the live launch, as well as a retrospective look at this rollercoaster of a journey. Interviewing some of the key players in the Leo project, we will hear about the team’s highlights, lessons learned, and key steps for the future!

Be sure to subscribe to our limited-time newsletter to stay up to date with all of the inside information as we get ready for launch day!

Past episodes of From Zero to Launch: Montreal Carsharing: 

Episode 1: The one where they figure out how to launch a carsharing service in just 8 months

Episode 2: The one where they put the “car” in “carsharing”

Episode 3: The one where they build their dream team

Episode 4: The one where they take on risk

Episode 5: The one where they finally say the name of the company

Episode 6: The one where they build the buzz