The Volkswagen brand announced a new all-electric car-sharing platform called ‘WE’ that will launch in Germany in 2019.
These services are to be extended to major cities in Europe, North America and Asia as early as 2020. This was announced by the Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Sales, Jürgen Stackmann, at an event held in Berlin on Wednesday.
“We are convinced that the car-sharing market still has potential. That is why we are entering this market with a holistic single-source concept covering all mobility needs from the short journey that takes just a few minutes to the long vacation trip. Our vehicle-on-demand fleets will consist entirely of electric cars, and will therefore provide zero-emission, sustainable mobility. That is an intelligent way to relieve the strain on urban areas”, Jürgen Stackmann explained.
Apart from car sharing, vehicle-on-demand services can also include what are known as micro-mobility solutions. Volkswagen recently presented progressive e-mobile solutions for urban centers with the I.D. Cityskater and the I.D. Streetmate study.
Going forward, vehicle-on-demand services from the WE/We customer platform, which could also be used to provide services such as a parking app or location based vouchering, are also designed to complement the mobility solutions offered by MOIA. MOIA’s products focus above all on ride hailing and pooling services.
The vehicle-on-demand services available on the Volkswagen WE platform will be managed by UMI Urban Mobility International GmbH, Berlin, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG led by CEO Philip Reth. UMI began operating this year with a team of approx. 30. As Philip Reth commented: “Our customers expect an environmentally-friendly fleet that takes them to their destination quickly and at a fair price – and that is exactly the experience we will be delivering.”
VW’s electric cars are already being used in third-party car-sharing services. Volkswagen and car-sharing company Zipcar struck up an innovative partnership in 2016 which, in the two years since, has led thousands of Londoners to get behind the wheel of the plug-in hybrid Golf GTE. Now, Zipcar is adding over 300 all-electric e-Golfs to be available for a car-sharing in London.
