Mevo Gone into Voluntary Admin

New Zealand car share company Mevo has gone into voluntary administration a month after it crowdfunded $3.38 million. Mevo Limited and Mevo Assets were both put into voluntary administration on March 30, with BDO liquidators Iain Shephard and Jessica Kellow appointed as administrators. Mevo recently claimed it was valued at $25 million on Auckland-based crowdfunding platform Snowball Effect, where it raised $3.28m in capital after setting a $2.2m target in Feb. A strategic institutional investor provided US$1m (approximately NZ$1.7m) in funding, alongside $500,000 investment from Cypress Ventures, a California-based entity founded by Mevo chief executive Erik Zydervelt. Funding challengesIn a statement, BDO said the administration follows funding challenges and liquidity constraints. "Mevo Limited had a signed subscription agreement for a further $1.7M in funding, which was set to be received by 31 March. The directors advised that this would have seen the business meet its obligations and be able to trade through. "Due to a series of events, the directors were made aware that these funds were no longer available, and therefore taking into account their duties and the best interests of stakeholders, have placed the company into voluntary administration. "In a LinkedIn post two months ago, Zydervelt said the new strategic investor committed "$1.7m in equity and up to $15m in finance to back our shift to an asset‑light platform model, at a 61% uplift on our last round’s share price. "He also wrote that he was "looking for 2–3 partners who want to write $500k–$1m cheques alongside our strategic and Snowball to help take the round to $5m. "The administrators said they are assessing Mevo’s operations and financial position, including the potential for sale and/or investment.

The voluntary administration follows a pivot in the company's business model to focus on Mevo Pool, which it describes as a “revolutionary earn-while-you-own model” in which individuals and dealers rent their cars to Mevo, which pools them out to customers. The new strategy would see the company get rid of its fixed-term operating and finance leases of vehicles. Mevo’s revenue for FY25 was $5.55m, up from $5.38m in FY24. The company reported a net loss after tax of $1.91m in FY25, and a loss of $1.92m in FY24. Mevo chief executive Zydervelt has been contacted for comment. Dispute Mevo had revealed it was in dispute with its vehicle lessor, Sustainable Fleet Finance (SFF), “on a number of items” in an update to investors on Snowball Effect on Jan 5. Mevo leased 147 vehicles from SFF and said it was negotiating the early return of all vehicles. The companies are in a mutually agreed standstill until March 31, conditional on Mevo providing SFF with a $500,000 bank or security guarantee on or before Jan 14. It’s unclear if this was paid. The companies are disputing whether SFF can maintain a parent guarantee and “All Present and After Acquired Personal Property” security interest over Mevo and its subsidiary, Mevo Assets, and what financial information SFF is entitled to from Mevo. SFF also wants Mevo to pay almost $45,000 in legal costs for an unresolved dispute over Mevo breaching its lease contract in relation to four vehicles. (This story has been updated to add comment from BDO and further detail)