NEXT #9: AI that supports. Driver's license checks that fit. V2G that's coming.
What is really driving the fleet industry right now? In this issue, we report on the panel discussion at AZOWO NEXT Day, explain how AI automates real processes instead of just answering questions, show why driver's license checks are more flexible than you might think, and clarify what vehicle-to-grid is all about. Enjoy reading!
🔗Networking - How do others actually do it?
Insights from the panel discussion with EnBW, Fraunhofer, and Munich Airport at AZOWO NEXT Day – Part II
EnBW operates 200 shared electric vehicles at six locations with a utilization rate of almost 100 percent. In the panel discussion at AZOWO NEXT Day, Vanessa Hindinger, Team Leader Mobility, reported on the hurdles they had to overcome on the road to digitalization.
Before AZOWO was introduced, all vehicles were manually scheduled in an Excel spreadsheet, a day-long task for a single employee. Then several things came together: COVID-19, digitalization, and the complete electrification of the pool vehicles. Employees are on the road a lot, with almost 16,000 trips made with these 200 vehicles. It was clear that at some point, this could only be managed through digitalization.
Previously, employees would go to reception and receive the key for the vehicle they always had. Employees were familiar with these little conveniences from the past: on-site workshops, car washers as a separate profession, repairing the vehicles themselves. All of this was gradually reduced, and then it became clear that we could only manage it with digitalization. In its tender, EnBW decided to tackle the issue of digitalization head-on and implemented a booking portal. This is now used in its web version. However, keys and assigned charging cards are still issued at reception.
In particular, communication and onboarding relating to vehicle booking, handling an electric car, and charging on site and fast charging on the road with EnBW mobility+ means ongoing training for the team of almost 30,000 group employees.
🤵💡Experts - AI expertise that we live and breathe ourselves
As an IT company, we use AI ourselves and continuously optimize our own processes, for example, through our internal workflow manager. So we don't just understand the technology, we live it. And that's exactly what shapes our vision for the fleet: AI should save fleet managers valuable time, not just by providing answers, but by truly automating entire processes. A system that alerts you when it's really important, so you can focus on strategic decisions instead of daily routine tasks.
AI adds value to the fleet in three stages:
1. Automation & process optimization: AI takes care of repetitive tasks such as assigning fines or structuring data in seconds.
2. AI as an attentive assistant: It recognizes inconsistencies and points out errors that are lost in the mass of data.
3. Proactive work: For example, it compares leasing terms with market prices, creates draft offers, or simulates what a fleet conversion to electric mobility would mean in concrete terms.
More information on AI in the AZOWO Mobility Cloud will be available at the Autoflotte digital workshop on March 12.
🧪Experience - Driver's license check: As flexible as your company
Driver's license checks are mandatory, but how they are implemented varies from company to company. Customers most often use app solutions: drivers photograph their driver's license with their smartphone, and the data is automatically recorded and submitted for verification. Scanners, RFID, easycheck, and manual checks with reminders and checklists are also available. All checks are documented in a legally compliant manner, including the name of the inspector, the date, and the result.
What really sets the AZOWO Mobility Cloud apart is its flexibility thanks to five freely combinable control mechanisms. Different user groups, locations, and situations require different approaches: warehouse workers without email access use the scanner directly on site, sales staff on the road use the app, and international employees use a completely different solution. Whether it's a large company with multiple locations or different processes in different places, every company is unique, and the platform reflects that.
🎙 Talks: From bidirectional charging to V2G: What's behind it?
The market for bidirectional charging and vehicle-to-grid is developing rapidly. We will take a closer look at this topic in the next three issues. We will start with the most important thing: the basics.
With conventional charging, electricity flows in only one direction, from the grid to the vehicle. With bidirectional charging, it works in both directions: the vehicle becomes a mobile energy storage device.
But why do we need this? Renewable energies produce electricity unevenly, sometimes too much, sometimes too little. These fluctuations jeopardize grid stability. The grid collapse in Spain in 2025 showed how critical this can become. V2G solves precisely this problem: vehicle fleets absorb surplus energy and feed it back into the grid when there is a shortage. This opens up completely new possibilities:
- Surplus wind or solar energy can be temporarily stored
- Peak loads in the grid can be cushioned
- Flexible capacities are created where vehicles are already parked
Vehicle-to-X: A short glossary
V2G (Vehicle-to-Grid): Feeding electricity back into the public grid
V2H (Vehicle-to-Home): Supplying a household from the vehicle battery
V2B (Vehicle-to-Building): Supplying energy to commercial properties or business premises
V2D (Vehicle-to-Device): Direct power supply to devices via the vehicle
V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything): Umbrella term for all forms of bidirectional energy flows
Technically, the applications differ primarily in their regulatory complexity. While V2H, V2B, and V2D often take place within a closed system, V2G requires integration into market and grid mechanisms.
Coming up in the next newsletter: current market developments.
🚗 Want more?
AI that really thinks for itself, driver's license checks that adapt, and V2G as a future topic for your fleet. We'll show you how this works in practice.
👉 Your fleet is ready. Are you?
