pepper motion and REV Mobilities accelerate the transportation transition in France

German-French Cooperation – pepper motion and REV Mobilities aim to participate in the French transport transition with retrofitting commercial vehicles (buses and trucks) in OEM series quality. France is considered one of the strongest bus and truck markets in Europe and, according to pepper, has similar potential to Germany.A recently announced government subsidy for the electrification of heavy commercial vehicles provides additional incentives.

“We are pleased to initiate further funding programs for the electrification of the commercial vehicle sector together with our partner REV Mobilities and in close cooperation with the French government, and to develop the necessary criteria catalogs for the quality requirements of the conversion. The aim is to comply with the European Union’s decarbonization stipulations and to meet the internationally recognized ISO 26262 standard for functional safety in the automotive industry,” said Arnaud Pigounides, founder and CEO of REV Mobilities, and Andreas Hager, CEO of pepper motion GmbH, about their short-term goals.

Emissions-free Second Life

France offers an opportunity that must not be missed, according to the press release. As of 2021, around 95,000 buses (city and tour buses) with an average age of 7.1 years and approximately 580,000 trucks >3.5t with an average age of 7.2 years are on the roads in France. The conversion of existing vehicles “in their prime” would be a quick way to reduce greenhouse gases and advance the transport transition. The two companies aim to retrofit at least 5,000 buses and trucks in France by 2030 and to provide transport companies and fleet operators with etrofit kits, offering cost-efficient electrification solutions for the mobility transition towards zero emissions. pepper's serial solutions, developed to OEM standards, enable a quick switch to emissions-free transport. As a manufacturer and developer, pepper electrifies customer-owned vehicles, provides retrofitting companies and OEMs with complete etrofit kits, or even already retrofitted vehicles to end customers.

From battery, electric motor, to auxiliary components, control unit with system software developed according to ISO 26262 for functional safety, to the telematics interface to the (existing) vehicle, modular and fully secured complete packages are offered. The technological core of the drive systems is the company's own system architecture software. The battery capacity of the electric drive system is currently scalable from the smallest version with 120 kWh to 720 kWh net, depending on the application scenario.

The first available pepper retrofitting solutions for the French market include the bus models Mercedes-Benz Citaro C1 and Citaro C2, as well as the truck models Mercedes-Benz Actros and Atego, generally designed for trucks over 7.5 t. Further models such as the IVECO Crossway for interregional public transport and other truck models are planned in cooperation with REV Mobilities for 2023 and beyond. pepper is also already working on hydrogen technology. The collaboration with REV Mobilities will also extend to this technology for specific applications in the future.

Several-week Nationwide Roadshow

Public Transport Offensive – REV Mobilities and pepper have planned a several-week nationwide roadshow to the most important French public transport regions for the second quarter of 2022 to present the etrofit bus, to generate enthusiasm for the conversion technology behind it, and to dispel still widespread prejudices against electromobility.

Interested municipalities, fleet, and transport companies can contact the company via email at contact@peppermotion.com.