Volkswagen’s Moia wants to catch up with its main rivals

VOLKSWAGEN’s fledgling Moia mobility unit is betting on the rise of self-driving cars to deliver on its plan to catch up with ride-hailing leaders like Uber Technologies, without burning through piles of cash.

Moia is focused on connecting the fast-changing mobility marketplace with the German carmaker’s vast manufacturing capacity, including its efforts to develop autonomous cars, according to the subsidiary’s head, Ole Harms. Moia is open to partnerships as it aims to crack the top three in mobility – a category that includes services like ride pooling and car sharing and also make a profit by 2025, he said. “Our clear goal is to open up mobility as a service for VW group,” Harms said. “Establishing a profitable business model and optimising what we do is key before a global roll-out.”

While the ambitions are high, VW is making up for lost ground. Its mobility efforts are behind not only Uber, Lyft and China’s Didi Chuxing, but also Daimler and BMW, which recently said that they will combine their car-sharing services DriveNow and Car2Go.

Daimler, which started its Car2Go service in 2008, yesterday said the number of people using its mobility offerings had jumped by 88 percent to just under 23 million in the year to May, across its car sharing as well as mytaxi and moovel apps. Moovel helps users pick a mode of transport in urban areas.

VW has invested “a significant three-digit million-euro” amount on Moia, which was formed in late 2016, and more than $300 million (R4.05 billion) into Uber rival Gett. As companies seek to establish and expand services, city-by-city rules are hampering quick roll-outs. Uber is currently appealing Transport for London’s decision to strip the company of its licence.

Berlin visit New chief executive Herbert Diess, whose success with cost-cutting measures to boost profitability at VW’s namesake brand helped propel him to his new position, visited Moia’s Berlin offices soon after taking over. He’s pooled the division with the volume group that includes mass-market nameplates like VW, Skoda and Seat. While that should improve access, competition for resources is steep. Diess is simultaneously investing billions to electrify its fleet and is still contending with the threeyear-old diesel scandal.

“He’s got deep knowledge and strongly believes execution is key,” Harms said.

Harms said Moia will help steer the development of cars that work seamlessly with ride-sharing applications, and eventually vehicles that drive themselves. The ability to cover both – self-driving technology and mass production – will help overcome the challenge for ride-sharing services that are struggling to generate attractive returns if costs for vehicles and drivers are taken into account, he said.

Its first initiative, a ride-pooling project, is focused on getting people around in crowded cities, which will help to reduce traffic jams and pollution. Moia yesterday said it’ll start full service in the town of Hanover with 150 vans in coming weeks. – Bloomberg