La Provincia - Giugiaro strikes again

Giugiaro strikes again: here is his taxi of the future

It is not sold but rented. It will be produced in Turin with a series of serices dedicated to taxi drivers. And the producer will also become a small publisher to deliver content to travelers by Vincenzo Borgomeo, 29 September 2022

Giugiaro struck again. After years, better not to say how many, from the design of his taxi for New York built on an Alfa Romeo basis, the definitive prototype of a public car ready to go into production is now debuting - thanks to Etioca Holding, an international company based in Gibraltar. Yes, because Etioca Holding acquired Coggiola the historic Turin body shop, thus becoming the holder of the precious WMI license (Worldwide Manufacturers Identifier), which allows the unlimited production of a wide range of vehicles (cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles). Named Miner, the Etioca taxi car is electric multiservice, with a futuristic design aimed at interpreting sustainable mobility processes and is aimed directly at taxi driver entrepreneurs who no longer have to buy the car but get it in use from Etioca; drivers can use the vehicle and all services at 0.99 cents / km, the average European cost per km.

A business model

In short, here, more than a car, there is a business model conceived since 2015 by its Israeli founder and current CEO of Mark Ishakov who has set up a full range of services that create cash flow to support the evolution of mobility.

Giuguaro’s touch

But let’s get back to the design and concept. All the result of the genius of Giorgetto Giugiaro, designer of the Century, and of Fabrizio Fiugiaro, with over 30 years in car design: they are the ones who took care of the style and engineering for its production. “I joined the project that I believe to be extraordinary and revolutionary - says Giorgetto Giugiaro - already in ‘76 I tackled the issue of a new taxi for New York that remained in the prototype phase. I am happy with Fabrizio to contribute today to the development of this concept integrated into a global ecosystem ”.

“We contribute to the ecosystem - says Fabrizio Giugiaro - bringing our experience in product development starting from the current concept on the” Anna “platform that will see us engaged in designing cutting-edge vehicle types”.

Production

Okay, but the production? “The Industrial Center - they explain to Etioca - is made up of various plants for the production of their own vehicles and for those requested by partner companies or customers. Etioca “Miner” will be the first born of the “Anna” generation, a platform based on a modular architecture that allows different vehicle configurations. In the near future, “Anna” will give life to a new range of service vehicles: taxis, work vehicles, school shuttle, emergency vehicles, security (firefighters and police) and means of defense. The Etioca Industrial Center will be built in different locations and foresees a pilot plant (in the coming months there will be the final choice), an assembly plant, a production plant, a Giga Factory around which the suppliers’ plants will also be built “.

Services for taxi drivers

The user of these taxis, at the cost we mentioned earlier, will therefore have electric charging stations (battery swap), car wash stations, on-board food and drink sales, after-sales assistance available. All with management via App. But Etioca Taxi will also be a small publisher because it will have a new “media channel”: integrated LED screens will project ADV and institutional campaigns or public service messages for citizens. The new media channel will be managed internally after the recent acquisition by Etioca of Between Comunicazione, a public relations and advertising agency based in Turin, specialized for over 20 years in corporate and product communication. “We started as suppliers - says Marco Molineri CEO and co founder of Between - and then we fell in love with the project and without even realizing it, we became Etioca’s partner. The agency will plan advertising campaigns and global communication activities as well as relations with the media and institutions “.

Production estimates

The first 10,000 Etioca Taxis will be in circulation by the end of 2024. Annual production in 2025 will be 45,000 units and will reach 100,000 units per year in 2027 with an initial investment of $ 400 million to reach $ 1.2 billion over the next 3 years. 90,000 pre-orders are under discussion in Italy, Israel, Latvia and to speed up production times an agreement with an Italian strategic partner for the use of a production plant is at an advanced stage of negotiation. The pre-order form is available on the website www.etioca.com. The taxi drivers poss o make their registration with a simple transaction of 100 euros. This amount allows you to manage the feasibility of the order and will be returned to future drivers on the Etioca debit card, on the same day of delivery of the vehicle starting from 2024.

The strategy

“We intend to guide cultural and social change - declares Mark Ishakov founder and CEO of Etioca - towards sustainable mobility by offering solutions that protect the environment and increase the quality of life of future generations. The Etioca ecosystem has the foundations to guide the transition towards electric mobility at the service of the urban communities of the future that aim to reduce emissions and traffic in cities, introducing sustainable, functional and shared vehicles. Our business plan is based on the Monte Carlo model. The current value of Etioca is 27 billion US dollars excluding revenues generated by Fintech and Media. Based on our business plan we estimate that the internal valuation of Etiocar will reach 232 billion US dollars in 7 years of operation. Etioca is continuing the process of strategic acquisitions to increase the value of our ecosystem and to respect the timing of the industrial plan“.