ICMIF member Achmea (Netherlands), through the Achmea Innovation Fund, has acquired an interest in Onto, Europe’s largest subscription service in the field of electric vehicles (EVs), as one of a group of new investors in this technology-driven company from the UK. This investment fits in with Achmea’s strategy in the field of clean, safe and smart mobility.
Onto (founded in 2017) offers private and business users easy access to electric cars, without long-term obligations. Through a monthly cancellable all-inclusive subscription, customers get the latest electric vehicles at their disposal, including insurance, public charging and maintenance.
Car-as-a-Service is the future
Rob Jolly, CEO and co-founder of Onto: “The car market is constantly developing more towards a B2B2C market (business-to-business-to-consumer). Car-as-a-Service is part of the movement towards zero ownership. Onto offers a simple, flexible and affordable alternative to traditional car ownership. That is why Onto uses transparent prices and we do not ask for a deposit. This allows users to easily step into the world of EVs and exchange their cars without any problems, without being tied to a long contract or high upfront costs.”
Sustainable mobility is becoming the norm
Katharina Maass, fund manager of the Achmea Innovation Fund says: “The Netherlands has major challenges in in the field of mobility and reducing CO2 emissions. Developments are moving at lightning speed and technology is becoming increasingly important, such as the rise of electric vehicles, self-driving cars and shared services. Sustainable mobility is becoming the norm. Car-as-a-Service, which Onto is fully committed to, makes electric driving possible for a new target group. We can learn a lot from the experiences in the UK in this regard. It must and can be cleaner, safer and smarter. As a cooperative insurer, Achmea is happy to contribute to this.”
The Achmea Innovation Fund invests in this round of Series B funding alongside existing investors and Alfvén & Didrikson (lead investor in this round), TotalEnergies Ventures and Vlerick Group.
Achmea Innovation Fund
Founded in October 2019, the Achmea Innovation Fund provides growth capital to promising businesses that support their cooperative identity and mission to contribute to a healthier, safer and future-proof society. Katharina Maass: “Achmea wants to deliver value for customers and society. In doing so, we look beyond today. The challenges of the future are what the Achmea Innovation Fund would like to play a meaningful role in. In addition to investing, our fund is emphatically building a long-term partnership with meaningful companies.” The Achmea Innovation Fund has an initial size of EUR 100 million.
In a recent ICMIF webinar, “Funding innovation for a sustainable and future-proof society”, Katharina presented an overview of how the Achmea Innovation Fund assesses possible partnerships with start-up and scale-up companies that are developing innovative initiatives that have major social impact in the insurance-related ecosystems of Achmea’s strategic domains: health, mobility, living environments and financial solutions.
