Volkswagen and Renault have both announced plans for electric car-sharing services, designed to help reduce the environmental impact and overall energy usage of road travel.
French automaker Renault is working closely with Paris officials to commence an ‘electric mobility’ initiative as early as September 2018, providing city residents with a car-sharing fleet available 24/7 - with a mind to integrating with transport services in the wider Île-de-France region.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen has plans further afield. In 2019, it will be launching its ‘We’ platform for on-demand electric vehicles in its home nation of Germany, before rolling out internationally across cities in Europe, Asia, and North America from 2020 onwards.
Dude, where’s my car?
While progress is slow, it looks like the auto industry is beginning to seriously consider alternative business models to individual car ownership.
Both VW and Renault’s car-sharing services would allow motorists to travel across their respective territories in a rental capacity – much like driving your own Uber – rather than forcing them to overcome the currently-lofty price barrier for most electric vehicles.
Volvo is also launching a new customer-focused app called ‘M’, which informs users about alternatives to public transport and is set to integrate further with the Swedish car-sharing company Sunfleet in 2019.
