Renault’s decision to dissolve Mobilize Beyond Automotive marks a clear strategic shift. However, the Group is retaining its core businesses (charging, energy and V2G), which are now integrated into the heart of its business. The decision to refocus on profitability and vehicle sales marks a break with the initial ambitions of Luca de Meo.
Change of trajectory
Created in 2021, Mobilize Beyond Automotive was to embody the future, with the ambition of creating a new pillar of growth based on car-sharing, micro-vehicles, energy and digital services. Four years on, the facts are clear: the entity is disappearing as an autonomous structure. This move is not simply an administrative reorganisation. It is a strategic choice that speaks volumes. Under the impetus of new CEO François Provost, who arrived in the summer of 2025, Renault has reviewed all its projects in the light of a central criterion: their direct and measurable contribution to the group’s profitability.
Already withdrawn from Paris and then Lyon, the Zity service ceased operations in Milan in December and is preparing to leave Madrid in the first half of 2026. This marks the definitive end of the brand, once presented as an urban laboratory for new electric mobility. The same fate befell the Mobilize Duo, which was supposed to be a response to the challenges of urban congestion and accessible mobility. Its marketing was halted after just a few months, even before its arrival on the UK market. These abandonments reflect an industrial reality that Renault now openly acknowledges. Free-floating car-sharing and dedicated micro-vehicles are struggling to break even, due to high operating costs and intense competition. Difficulties already encountered by other European manufacturers.
The survivors of this decision
Mobilize Beyond Automotive may be disappearing, but this does not mean that everything has been abandoned. Renault has decided to retain and internalise its recharging and energy activities, which are considered strategic to support the ramp-up of its electric vehicles. These services are fully integrated into the group’s commercial operations. The Mobilize Charge Pass, which gives access to over a million charge points in Europe for around 90,000 users, is considered a mature asset. It is becoming a customer experience tool, designed as a natural extension of the purchase of a Renault electric vehicle, rather than a stand-alone service seeking its own profitability. The same logic applies to Mobilize Fast Charge. The network currently has more than 60 ultra-fast charging stations in France, with a target of a hundred by the end of 2026. However, Renault is scaling back its ambitions to roll out its own infrastructure, preferring to position itself as a facilitator for its customers, relying on partnerships and existing networks, notably in Italy via Free to X.
Among the building blocks retained, two-way V2G charging occupies a special place. Launched commercially in France in 2024, this offering positions Renault as one of the European pioneers of residential V2G for the general public. It is based on a bi-directional on-board charger, a dedicated charging point and a specific electricity offer. With the arrival of the new Renault 5, the manufacturer intends to demonstrate that the electric vehicle can become an active element in the domestic energy system. By discharging to the home, supporting the grid at peak times and optimising bills, V2G is seen as a differentiating lever at the crossroads between the automotive and energy sectors.
Renault aligns itself with a fundamental trend in the sector
In closing the Mobilize Beyond Automotive chapter, Renault is joining a wider dynamic observed among many manufacturers. After a phase of intense experimentation with ‘new mobility’, the time has come to refocus. Sales of electric vehicles, financing, simplified recharging and energy services directly linked to use are now at the heart of the value proposition. Mobilize’s initial target of generating up to 20% of group sales by 2030 now seems too ambitious given the economic realities. Renault is therefore opting for financial discipline, even if it means abandoning certain promises.
Sources: @Reuters – @renaultgroup.com – @www.lefigaro.fr
