Photo: Stefan Baldauf/Guido ten Brink
Over the next few decades, car ownership is going to suffer a few changes, with a lot of people likely to prefer sharing a vehicle rather than being its sole proprietors.
Naturally, carmakers will have to adjust to this situation and while the transition is going to be smooth, and there will always be plenty of those who cherish their vehicles too much to let others get their dirty paws on them, it's something they need to take into account when developing mid- to long-term strategies.
Other car companies - such as General Motors, Ford or Toyota - have already announced partnerships with ride-hailing startups like Uber or Lyft, but there are those who look to offer integrated solutions on their own. Tesla, for example, has begun mentioning the "Tesla Network," a system that will allow its users to share their EVs for a profit, but since it relies on autonomous technology, it's still just a project for now.
Volkswagen, on the other hand, decided to launch a standalone company that will deal with "new mobility solutions." The announcement was made at TechCrunch's Disrupt conference that's being held in London and marks yet another step in VW's long road toward redemption following the Dieselgate scandal.
MOIA's headquarters will be located in Berlin, and the German capital city will also be the place where it will test most of its services. One of its first projects will involve electric commuter shuttles that can pe hailed with the help of a smartphone app. The vans will offer a mix between traditional public transport and on-demand ride-hailing.
Matthias Muller, CEO of VW Group, was rather blunt about his company's intentions behind MOIA: "[it] can help make everyone a customer of our company in some way or another,” conceding the fact that car ownership will not be so widespread indefinitely. So this is basically Volkswagen trying to future-proof itself.
Volkswagen also said it would "explore" self-driving technology, but without getting into too much detail. While the VW brand itself has had nothing to do with autonomous vehicles, let's not forget about Audi's efforts in this direction.
MOIA's future is clearly intertwined with that of electric propulsion and driverless capabilities, but that doesn't mean we're going to have to wait until Volkswagen is able to master both to hear anything from MOIA. In fact, the first trials are expected to start next year.
Other car companies - such as General Motors, Ford or Toyota - have already announced partnerships with ride-hailing startups like Uber or Lyft, but there are those who look to offer integrated solutions on their own. Tesla, for example, has begun mentioning the "Tesla Network," a system that will allow its users to share their EVs for a profit, but since it relies on autonomous technology, it's still just a project for now.
Volkswagen, on the other hand, decided to launch a standalone company that will deal with "new mobility solutions." The announcement was made at TechCrunch's Disrupt conference that's being held in London and marks yet another step in VW's long road toward redemption following the Dieselgate scandal.
MOIA's headquarters will be located in Berlin, and the German capital city will also be the place where it will test most of its services. One of its first projects will involve electric commuter shuttles that can pe hailed with the help of a smartphone app. The vans will offer a mix between traditional public transport and on-demand ride-hailing.
Matthias Muller, CEO of VW Group, was rather blunt about his company's intentions behind MOIA: "[it] can help make everyone a customer of our company in some way or another,” conceding the fact that car ownership will not be so widespread indefinitely. So this is basically Volkswagen trying to future-proof itself.
Volkswagen also said it would "explore" self-driving technology, but without getting into too much detail. While the VW brand itself has had nothing to do with autonomous vehicles, let's not forget about Audi's efforts in this direction.
MOIA's future is clearly intertwined with that of electric propulsion and driverless capabilities, but that doesn't mean we're going to have to wait until Volkswagen is able to master both to hear anything from MOIA. In fact, the first trials are expected to start next year.
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