VW To Start Uber's Mobility Business

Volkswagen is moving into the evolving mobility services business with the creation of Moia, a Berlin-based company that will provide a range of ride services in urban markets, with an eye to becoming one of the world's largest such service providers by 2025.


Moia begins operating January 1, Volkswagen said in a statement issued as it announced the new initiative at a TechCrunch conference in London. Moia will focus on using environmentally friendly vehicles and will have access to products from across the Volkswagen Group's 12-brand lineup.

"Even though not everyone will still own a car in future, Moia can help make everyone a customer of our company in some way or another,” said Volkswagen Group CEO Matthias Müller.

The unit will provide a range of transportation options for riders, with an emphasis on creating a highly flexible service, and may also work with transit system operators.

By 2025, Volkswagen expects the unit to be a major source of new business revenue.
“Moia is a stand-alone company under the Volkswagen Group umbrella, and will develop and market its own mobility services, either independently or in partnership with cities and existing transport systems.

The success of Uber and rival Lyft in popularizing on-demand ride services has sparked a revolution in recent years, hurting traditional taxi business and reducing the need for some commuters to purchase their own vehicles.

 The expected arrival of self-driving autos in the next decade only accelerates those trends, as rides in robotic vehicles are expected to be much cheaper than those with humans behind the wheel.