Plug Inn is a peer-to-peer app that allows electric car driver to connect with people who own home chargers and rent them to charge their cars anywhere they are, even remote places where charging an electric car seemed impossible. It is an innovating way to interact with customers by offering them a solution that enhances and changes the experience of driving an electric car. At the same time, we generate a business opportunity for home charger owners who can turn their electricity into money, turning a business problem into a new business model.

By 2022, there were 1 million electric cars in France, but the infrastructure couldn’t keep up and there were only 80.000 charging stations available. That meant that driving long distances was still a problem for electric car owners, especially when driving through remote places where there were zero charging stations. This generated range anxiety and made the switch from thermic to electric more difficult. The challenge for Renault was to find a solution that would make the charging network grow fast, without having to deal with the constraints and bureaucracy of building public charging stations, while still making it available to everyone.

Renault Plug Inn is a peer-to-peer app that connects electric car drivers to home charger owners. Drivers can find and book the home chargers available wherever and whenever they need it, and charger owners can make money by renting them out. It’s like an Airbnb for charging spots that solves the problem of driving long distances through remote places where there used to be zero charging stations for electric cars while creating a new business model.

It’s a fact that there were not enough charging stations for electric cars, but it was also a fact that because of this, many people have their own charger at home, especially in remote locations where there are no public charging stations. If we could find a way to connect electric drivers to charger owners, like Airbnb does for travelers and homeowners, we would change the way people think of electric driving forever. Creating an app was a way to use technology to solve a problem in record time, that otherwise would have taken years.

The Plug Inn app launch is ongoing and following 4 main steps. First step started took place for 3 days (21-23 of February) with a beta pre-opening only for selected pre-registered users & Renault/Publicis employees, to test the app. Then, an initial soft launch began the 9th of march for all pre-registered users & Renault/Publicis employees to gradually scale the app and test usages. Eventually, the public launch occurred the 13th of march with opening of the app to all users in Apple and Android stores. This launch was supported by a media cover (press release, organic posts, displays in Renault dealership). The final stage of the launch, at the beginning of April, is an advertising campaign on TV, press and radio, enhanced by an influence marketing campaign. Social media are also being used as a recruitment tool, supplemented by emailing and a partnership with Waze.

In only 2 weeks after it was launched, the application had 16.000 users, and had reached 107 million impressions and over 500.000€ in earned media.