GM is going full-force into the car-sharing market with its newly launched brand, Maven. The new brand combines all of GM’s car sharing programs under a single name.
At the heart of the Maven brand is car-sharing, which GM says that more than 25 million people will be using in some form or another by 2020.
With the Maven service, customers will be able to interact with their smartphones. Using the Maven app, they can find and reserve a vehicle, unlock it and start it right from their phones. Using features like Apple Car Play and Android Auto, the customer’s smartphones will be integrated into the shared vehicle as if it was their own car.
GM is expanding the Maven service to Ann Arbor, Michigan, targeting students and faculty at the University of Michigan. The cars will be available in 21 parking spots throughout the city.
In the first quarter of this year, GM will be expanding its residential program to Chicago. GM will also increase its car-sharing presence in New York City, the program formerly known as Let’s Drive NYC. Between the Chicago and New York programs, GM estimates it will reach 5,000 residential customers.
Worldwide Maven programs include a peer-to-peer car sharing program in Germany and test programs on GM campuses in the U.S., Germany and China.
Many automakers are recognizing that offering their own car-sharing rental businesses and ride-sharing services is a good way to go beyond just selling vehicles. Today there are a growing number of ride sharing and car sharing programs being tested by the major automakers. Some existing program and partnerships include Ford’s GoDrive, BMW’s DriveNow, Nissan Enterprise CarShare, and Honda partnering with Zipcar for the ONE>WAY program.
What do you think? Will there ever be a time when car sharing is the norm and car ownership is the exception? Would you ever participate in a car-sharing service? Start the conversation in the comments below.
