Zap-Map, a UK-based startup that wants to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles has grabbed £9 million Series A funding. It includes a £3.7 million investment from existing investor Good Energy from its existing cash reserves and a £5.3 million investment from new strategic investor Fleetcor, a leading global fuel card and payment provider.
With this round, Zap-Map has reached a £26.3 million post money valuation. As a result of this round, Good Energy will have a significant minority 49.9% shareholding and Fleetcor will have a shareholding of 19.9%.
Curb carbon levels by 2025
The investment will support Zap-Map’s international expansion plans. Zap-Map’s existing collaboration with Fleetcor-owned Allstar Electric allows Allstar Electric customers to search, plan and pay for EV charging through the EV charging app. The app filters help Allstar drivers find their nearest Allstar-enabled charge points, easing range anxiety and assisting journey planning. Allstar customers can now also pay for charging using Zap-Pay across participating networks. Allstar will continue to add accepting sites to its electric network throughout 2022.
Good Energy’s participation in the round is in line with its strategy to build a platform which makes it simple for people to generate, share, store, use and travel with clean power. Zap-Map has a strong role in its three-pronged strategy across clean energy supply, energy services and transport. Its ambition is to help one million homes and businesses cut carbon levels by 2025.
Nigel Pocklington, Chair of Zap-Map EV charging and Chief Executive of Good Energy said: “I’m very excited to announce this new investment, which is a huge boost for Zap-Map’s growth plans. There are over half a million EV drivers in the UK, with millions more switching to electric in the coming years. It is a race towards zero-emission transport and Zap-Map is placed right at the front of the field, where we plan to keep it. Bringing on a partner with the scale and compatibility of Fleetcor ensures that that is possible, opening up further possibilities in international payments and fleet electrification.”
Richard Bourne, Chief Executive of Zap-Map, said: “This fundraising round allows us to accelerate Zap-Map’s core mission – making it simple for current and future electric vehicle drivers to plan journeys, search and pay for electric vehicle charging. Good Energy has proven a powerful partner to date and we are delighted to have a new strategic collaboration with Fleetcor which will supercharge our ambition to accelerate the provision of services to the fleet market and allow us to look ahead and expand internationally.”
Go-to app for EV drivers
Zap-Map was founded by Ben Lane and Melanie Shufflebotham in 2014 in Bristol. Its mission is to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles (EV) and help the drive towards zero carbon mobility. Zap-Map is a leading EV mapping service and its charging point map, available on desktop and iOS/Android apps, helps EV drivers to search for available charge points, plan longer journeys, pay for charging on participating networks and share updates with other drivers.
Zap-Map has cemented its position in the UK as the ‘go-to’ app for the EV driver and for EV charging data. It plays a key role for all EV drivers in this transition by enabling them to search, plan and pay for EV charging in one app whilst receiving real time updates in car.
Currently, Zap-Map has more than 420,000 registered users and over 95% of the UK’s public points on its network, with around 70% being updated with live availability status data. More than 220,000 EV drivers use Zap-Map each month.
