Maven, General Motors’ year-old car-sharing service, is adding over 100 all-electric Chevy Bolts to its fleet in Los Angeles, the company announced today. It’s not a surprise, because according to GM, Maven has been doing gangbusters in LA: since launching in October 2016, Maven has seen an average of 56 percent member growth month-over-month. And in California, which has one of the highest number of electric vehicle charging stations in the country, Maven sees an opportunity to grow even more with the Chevy Bolt.
Maven has been doing gangbusters in LA
Since its launch 13 months ago, Maven has grown to 17 cities in the US and Canada, and added 24,000 members who have made 27,500 reservations. Maven users have logged over 78 million miles in the car-sharing service's Chevy, Cadillac, and Buick vehicles, which they can rent out at an hourly rate of $6 to $8. That number includes Lyft drivers who are renting out Chevy Equinoxes for $99 a week under Maven's Express Drive service. Unlike Zipcar or Daimler's Car2Go, Maven has no annual membership or sign-up fees, and in some markets, the company's employees will actually deliver the car straight to those customers who request it.
Julia Steyn, CEO of GM’s car-sharing service Maven, told The Verge last month that this new venture is of “tremendous value to [GM’s] core business.” And she defended GM’s ability to maintain a large fleet of vehicles as part of the company’s “core competency.”
Maven is GM’s marquee project under its larger “urban mobility” effort to help market its brand to city-dwelling millennials who would prefer to avoid the hassle of car-ownership. Other mobility efforts include the company’s $500 million investment in ride-sharing service Lyft and the $1 billion acquisition of self-driving car startup Cruise Automation. GM’s self-driving Chevy Bolts, powered by Cruise’s automated driving software, are currently being tested in San Francisco and Arizona.
The Chevy Bolt is GM’s big play at a mass-market electric vehicle. Since starting production last December, the company shipped over 1,700 units, according to Electrek.
1/6