Shiftmove offers businesses a software platform to centralize fleet management data and processes. Interview with Taco van der Leij, its CEO France and Senior Vice President International.
What is your background?
Taco van der Leij: I am originally from the Netherlands where I studied engineering. I started my professional career in consulting firms (Arthur D. Little and Auberon Growth Strategy Consultants), before working for communications solution providers (Orange, Zenitel and Kolibri Systems). Afterwards, I joined TomTom in 2011, whose telematics business was bought by the Bridgestone Group in 2019 to become Webfleet. I held various positions of responsibility there: product marketing, sales management, acquisition integration...
Why did you join Shiftmove at the beginning of the year?
T.V.D.L.: First of all, I am very interested in the field of automotive management, in which I have been very involved in over the past few years. I decided to join Shiftmove because it is an entrepreneurial company and a pure player with freedom in its decision-making. As such, it has the agility and responsiveness that are essential in a constantly changing market. I see more and more companies that are part of a large group in which it is more and more difficult to act and to react to market changes. However, each year is different and brings new challenges in the automotive market: autonomous vehicles, electric vehicles, etc. To be successful, you need to be flexible and be able to react quickly to changes.
In addition, what I am also very interested in is the data aspect. Today, existing traditional telematics solutions have many limitations. This explains why fleets do not work to their full potential. Moreover, the automotive industry is increasingly managed by software powered by artificial intelligence. And Shiftmove has teams that have experience on these topics, but also modern tools and methods to process all the data collected on vehicles. Its offering is fully in line with the complete transformation allowing for smarter financial control, automated workflows and real-time information from vehicles.
I joined Shiftmove because I believe in its vision: a world where data supports every owner, manager, and fleet operator within a single, intelligent platform.
Can you present Shiftmove?
T.V.D.L.: Shiftmove was born from the merger of the companies Vimcar and Avrios, orchestrated in 2023 by the American investment fund Battery Ventures. The company specializes in the holistic management of mobility operations for businesses, offering a software platform to centralize fleet management data and processes. Based in Berlin (Germany), it has offices in Zurich (Switzerland), Wroclaw (Poland), Milan (Italy) and Aix-en-Provence (France).
Shiftmove's offer is structured around 3 solutions: a first, Avrios: management of vehicle fleet data based on artificial intelligence, with real-time information, intelligent data processing and legal compliance; a second solution, Vimcar: GPS tracking and TÜV certified digital logbook solutions; then a third, Optimum: modular and scalable management platform for all connected services (fleet management, geolocation, driving analysis, offense management...) fed through a data center.
What is Shiftmove's geographical scope of intervention?
T.V.D.L.: Shiftmove has an international vision, with main activities in Germany and France, as well as in some targeted countries in Europe. But the real focus right now is on France, a major market for the company's expansion. This is why Shiftmove took over Optimum Automotive in 2024 and is in exclusive negotiations to acquire Ocean, the business of Fleet Management by Orange Business, which now supports thousands of business customers and local authorities in the effective management of their fleet of vehicles, machines and heavy vehicles. And there are still many other opportunities in France, as there are a large number of players present in the telematics market, some of which could be potential longer-term targets to accelerate our growth.
Who are your main customers?
T.V.D.L.: among the major customers are car rental companies, public service organizations such as town halls, but also large companies that manage large fleets of company vehicles. For example, Shiftmove counts among its customers: Groupe BPCE, DB Schenker, Freenow, Sixt, Zalando or Allianz.
Who are your main competitors?
T.V.D.L.: I always say that our main competitor is Excel! Because there are still a lot of companies that manage their activities using this tool. The principle of Shiftmove's offer is to facilitate the work of fleet managers: invoice management, geolocation, etc.
Finally, what are Shiftmove's ambitions?
T.V.D.L.: we currently manage 500,000 cars, including 150,000 in France. And we aim for 1 million vehicles under management by 2027, with the aim of becoming the European leader in digital fleet solutions by that time. We hope to play a big role in the automotive world and become the CRM system of the future for every rental company and fleet manager.
Identity card
Denomination: Shiftmove
Activity: fleet management
Creation: 2023
Effective: 340 people
Web: shiftmove.com
