🚗 Discovering Poppy: Reinventing Urban Mobility

On March 20, 2025, I had the opportunity to visit the company Poppy, a shared mobility company created by D’Ieteren, which is revolutionizing urban mobility in Brussels.

Together with Anne-Charlotte d’Ursel, Aurélie Czekalski, and Amélie Pans, this very interesting meeting allowed us to discuss the challenges and opportunities of carsharing, and to better understand the existing solutions for smoother and more accessible mobility in our capital.

Poppy is an innovative Belgian company specializing in shared mobility. Founded in 2018 by the D’Ieteren group, it quickly established itself as a major player in the sector in Belgium. Present in Brussels and Antwerp, the company offers a diversified self-service fleet, ranging from eco-friendly cars to utility vans, as well as electric scooters and scooters. This multimodal approach meets the varied needs of city dwellers, while promoting sustainable modes of transportation.

One of Poppy's great strengths lies in the user-friendliness of its mobile application. In a few clicks, it is possible to locate, reserve, and unlock a vehicle. The service operates on a "free-floating" basis, meaning that no fixed station is required: vehicles can be picked up and dropped off freely within the Poppy zone. All costs – fuel, parking, insurance, maintenance – are included in the rate, making the offer transparent, economical, and flexible.

During our visit, we also discovered a major innovation: the introduction of remote-controlled cars – a first on Belgian roads. Thanks to this technology, operators can remotely control vehicles, optimizing their deployment in high-demand areas. This advancement perfectly illustrates Poppy's commitment to pushing the boundaries of urban mobility and rethinking the use of public space.

Poppy's environmental commitment is also at the heart of its project. By encouraging vehicle sharing, the company actively contributes to reducing CO₂ emissions and relieving congestion on the streets. A shared car can replace up to 7 private vehicles, freeing up space and improving the quality of life in the city.

This immersion in the heart of Poppy allowed us to better understand the challenges of shared mobility in Brussels. This type of innovative initiative, which combines technology, flexibility, and sustainability, is essential to support our transition to a smoother, greener, and more connected city.