After the acquisition of Mobility Mixx by Gaiyo, we dive deeper into the changing world of business mobility in the Netherlands with our CEO Lucien Groenhuijzen. Discover how Gaiyo strives to reach the top of this market through continuous innovation and how the acquisition has accelerated this innovation.

In May 2023, Gaiyo Mobility acquired Mixx. How are you doing now?

“Lucien Groenhuijzen (LG): “Good! A lot has happened since the takeover. Now a new branding, for example, with a new logo and a whole advertising campaign around it. We don’t sit still.”

Was that rebranding necessary?

LG: “Yes, that was necessary to really position our brand strongly in the market and to build more brand awareness. Especially now that we have acquired Mobility Mixx and have become a serious player in the business market. And we also want to become better known and grow in the consumer market. Our campaign can now be seen on many stations, so let’s hope that more and more people will get to know Gaiyo. Business is already going quite well. New colleagues are very impressed by the traction we have had in the business market since the acquisition of Mobility Mixx four months ago. Several new business customers have already been added.”

“Now that we have acquired Mobility Mixx, we have become a serious player in the business market”

What does the business mobility market look like in the Netherlands?

LG: “The NS is the largest provider with the NS Business Card and then there are four other business providers. Mobility Mixx is the oldest of these, the company started 25 years ago as a Connexxion startup. When we took over it was owned by the Japanese leasing company MHC. All other players in the business market are part of car-related companies that want to offer their customers something extra in the field of transport in addition to (lease) cars.

All these business providers have a more traditional approach, they offer a card that allows you to travel, refuel and charge by public transport. The card actually functions as a means of payment: if you want to use a Check or MyWheels, you must first create an account with the relevant provider. That’s quite a hassle and so people don’t use it. With Gaiyo we really make a difference here, because we offer all providers fully integrated in one app, one card with one account and on one business invoice.”

Was Gaiyo already active in the business market before the acquisition of Mobility Mixx?

LG: “Yes, we started Gaiyo Business, our business arm, in 2022. We had about 40 customers since then; mainly smaller parties, so there was not yet a lot of usage volume. This was also because Gaiyo had an app, but no travel card. You still need it if you want to travel a lot by public transport. With the acquisition of Mobility Mixx, we suddenly acquired a large group of customers and their employees. The employees of these customers can now get to know the Gaiyo app and use it for business in addition to their travel card, a huge win. We are now truly the most complete ‘all in 1’ service provider in the Netherlands. We also see that many of our customers are traveling more, so people are clearly going to the office more often. I therefore expect that we will grow significantly in the number of users and travel movements in the near future.”

What impact did this acquisition have on your company?

LG: “Everything has basically accelerated. Our business model has been expanded to include the business traveler, our business turnover now exceeds our consumer turnover. We have completed the first 100 days of the integration between Gaiyo and Mobility Mixx. We all work at one location now and we therefore understand each other better and better. All Mobility Mixx customers can now also travel for business with Gaiyo. We have an ambitious growth plan for 2024 and we are all working hard on it. Exciting, but we are working on the right things.”

“The CO2 impact of your travel options will soon be immediately visible in the app”

Can you tell us more about that?

LG: “In the Netherlands we will mainly focus on the full integration of Gaiyo and Mobility Mixx in the near future. The first version is now ready, which means that business users can now use everything, including the Gaiyo app and our CO2 registration module in addition to their travel card. And the great thing about the Gaiyo app is that users can also travel privately if they want. They simply pay for it themselves and not through their employer. We are unique in the Netherlands in this regard.

Are you going to add any other new functionalities?

LG: “Definitely! We are still adding new carriers, such as recently Felyx and Greenwheels. We are busy working on a great product for electric shared cars for private groups (such as companies), the so-called pool cars. We do the same with cycling, for example by creating Cyclehubs. And everything completely integrated into the Gaiyo app.

And the Gaiyo Card, which has been added to the offer thanks to Mobility Mixx, can be used on public transport and for refueling and charging?

LG: “That’s right. We are also going to take major steps in charging. The charging market is very opaque, the rate differences between providers are enormous and no one provides good insight into this. Together with a partner, we are investigating how Gaiyo can bring more transparency to this. That you will soon not only have a card with which you can charge your car, but that you can also see in our app where you can charge, what the rate of a charging station is and thus make a better choice. This is lucrative for all our customers, because charging electric cars becomes a significant cost item. As a total mobility provider, we are very happy to contribute to such a development.”

Any other great developments at Gaiyo?

LG: “We went live in Belgium in September, with a large number of partners. And there are many more to come. There is no Gaiyo alternative on the Belgian consumer market yet, so we will introduce that first and expand the range. For example, we want to add on-street parking and have a comprehensive solution for public transport. Over the course of next year we will see whether we can also roll out Gaiyo commercially in Belgium. Some of our larger customers also have branches in Belgium and they have already shown interest.”

Curious how Gaiyo can transform the business travel experience in your company? Find out more about our integrated mobility solutions and get in touch today.