It was officially sealed the Loggerhead Ventures Fund investment in the start-up business Carolthe first one car sharing service in Greece, which provides easy and fast movement within the urban fabric, utilizing the seasonally idle fleet of car rental companies. The Loggerhead Ventures Fund team, recognizing the potential of the innovative idea that led to the creation of Caroo, aims to contribute to the acceleration of the growth of the startup, which successfully launched its operations in Athens in 2023, while at the same time showing significant scalability aspirations.

Most of 10,000 registered users of the application Caroo App, they have it access to vehicles on demandwhich they can rent for a period of a few minutes up to a day. The vehicles managed by Caroo are owned by rental companies, helping to address the seasonality that affects these companies, as their fleet in use drops dramatically during periods of low demand, with only 20% of vehicles being rented during of the whole. It is worth noting that in 12 months of operation of Caroo, a decrease in its rank is calculated 36% in pollutant emissionswhich would have been released if an average Greek car had been used for the same distances, as modern vehicles available for short-term rental have environmentally friendly features. At the same time, they contribute to modernization of the aging fleet of vehicles circulating in Athens.

caro

Mr Evangelos Kosmidis, CEO, of of a new Innovation Investment Fund targeting startups oriented towards green and digital transformation, referring to the selection of Caroo and its inclusion in the Fund’s portfolio, he emphasized that: “the selection of this particular startup was the result of many factors, the most basic of which was the formation of the Founders team, which consists of people who fully understand the requirements of the constantly evolving business landscape and have the necessary knowledge and skills for the development of their business venture. At the same time, their business concept and the overall operation of Caroo is fully aligned with the Fund’s commitment to support companies that prioritize alignment with ESG goals and their direct impact on the environment and society.”

On his part, Mr Christos Hilletis, founder and CEO of Caroo said: “The investment round we just closed is a milestone for Caroo. It practically shows that Caroo’s model, combined with the team’s optimal execution, is capable of solving problems that Car Sharing was facing. The most important thing, however, I think is that it is an asset light business model with a faster growth rate compared to the industry. The Loggerhead team was present and hands on from the first day of mutual interest. We expect to see the fermentation and the results with a climate oriented new VC like that of Loggerhead. In closing this round of funding, I consider the contribution of Anthology Ventures of Argyrios Spyridis with the hands on model they follow as well as our investors from HEBAN & LBAN to be important.

Carol

The use of the car sharing service offered by Caroo presents multiple benefits on an individual and collective level. Among other things, it contributes to the reduction of traffic costs, as it frees the user from fixed and particularly costly obligations, such as traffic taxes, insurance and maintenance of the privately owned car. At the same time, it facilitates accessibility to areas that may not be adequately covered by public transport and provides a vehicle for people who cannot afford to buy or lease a vehicle.

The long-term adoption of the car-sharing transportation model can lead to decongestion of road networksthe release of parking spaces, but even in reducing the ever-increasing number of privately owned vehicleswhich among others are one of the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions. It is worth noting that the vehicles used by Caroo are recently manufactured, electric, hybrid and more sustainable than the majority of private owners, which contributes to producing less pollutionwhile the constant checks that vehicles undergo contribute to improving road safety.

Who is Caroo?

The Caroo team provides a sustainable and affordable alternative to car ownership and attempts to introduce the residents of Athens to car sharing, utilizing the seasonally idle fleet of car rental companies. In particular, it provides a sharing service where users can rent a car for a period of a few minutes up to a day for commuting within the urban fabric, instead of buying or renting for a longer period.

The more than 10,000 registered users of the Caroo App have access to vehicles on demand and their use can last from a few minutes to a day. The model used by Caroo is free-floating car sharing, which provides greater flexibility as the user does not need to go to a rental station, but uses the application to locate the nearest vehicles. Accordingly, when he completes his route, he has the possibility to park the car at any point within the activity area. Through the application, the user has access to a wealth of data, such as the characteristics of the vehicle, the cost of use, and even the amount of emissions
of carbon dioxide it has saved from using the vehicle. In addition, the possibility of split billing is provided, so that the cost is shared between the passengers, while the charge is configured according to the minutes of use.

Mr. Christos Hilletis, founder and CEO of Caroo explains: “Caroo operates in the B2C segment as a Car Sharing company. A car sharing app that users use to perform Car Sharing. Always improving the UX based on the real needs of users which are changing rapidly in the field of mobility in recent years. The differentiation comes in the B2B arm. The correct management of sitting assets solves a multitude of problems from the operations side as well as creating a healthy and fast-growing business model, enhancing Caroo’s environmental impact as the manufacturing CO2 of a vehicle’s life cycle is not relevant to our model.”