Plug Inn

Why it works

Renault wanted to reassure French electric-car buyers that they could charge on long trips, beyond the thin public network. Instead of an ad, Publicis Conseil and Renault built a marketplace. First run in 2022 and opened to drivers of any brand in spring 2023, the Plug Inn app let owners of home chargers list them, set an hourly price and accept bookings, with payment inside the app and Renault keeping a 30% commission, according to Les Echos. It is studied because a carmaker answered an infrastructure gap with a service and a revenue model; the 2023 Creative Strategy jury gave it the Grand Prix on exactly those grounds, and it also took Gold Lions in Creative Business Transformation and Mobile. Uptake was modest: Les Echos counted about 40,000 downloads, 7,900 drivers and 2,200 hosts by June 2023, while the agency cited 31,000 users. The idea did not last. Renault has since withdrawn the peer-to-peer app and moved the Plug Inn name to its own fast-charging stations.