Toronto-based Metavera Solutions Inc., (MV), a provider of CarSharing software to the global auto rental and fleet management industries, has joined with Swiss-based Convadis AG (www.convadis.com), a global developer of CarSharing hardware technology, to form an innovative marketing and distribution alliance which will leverage the respective strengths of each of the organizations with a combined offering to the rapidly evolving worldwide CarSharing and FleetSharing industries. As a result of this new venture, MV will have global distribution rights to Convadis hardware with exclusivity in North America and Latin America -- marketing, selling, and supporting the combined solutions.

CarSharing, using a membership and all-inclusive hourly rental business model, is supported by a fully integrated, virtual IT platform comprised of in-vehicle mobility systems linked to customer interface software. FleetSharing provides fleet leasing and management companies, as well as individual businesses and governments, the ability to leverage the ROI on assets through multiple users of each leased vehicle utilizing similar technologies as CarSharing. MV plans to release a complete solution with Convadis to the growing FleetSharing community in early 2010. As the global markets for CarSharing and FleetSharing continue to grow, there has been a compelling need for these two best-in-class IT providers to join forces in a combined offering. Commenting on this new alliance, Julian Espiritu, a leading authority on the CarSharing and FleetSharing business models, and managing director of Abrams CarSharing Advisors, a specialized consulting firm, states, "There are natural synergies between Metavera and Convadis -- a great technology match... Metavera software and service and Convadis hardware and engineering; a solid business fit -- respective products complement each other and are non-competitive; and an optimal distribution model with Convadis leveraging Metavera's market strength to gain entry in the Americas while Metavera's entry into the European arena is aided by its association with an established and recognized hardware provider such as Convadis. Additionally, the economic benefits of the bundled offering to Metavera/Convadis customers are powerful and extremely competitive."

In a joint statement issued by Tony Simopoulos, president and founder of MV, and Reiner Langendorf, founder and director of Convadis AG, they comment, "As the CarSharing and FleetSharing industries continue to evolve and become more competitive, there is a challenge to our respective organizations to provide the highest quality product that is dynamic, comprehensive, seamless, and cost effective. What better way to meet the market's needs than for the leading software and hardware providers in this space to join forces to bring our complementary state-of-the-art IT platforms together in one marketing and distribution model. We are extremely excited about the possibilities of our new venture."