VW Debuts MOIA Mobility Services Company

Volkswagen AG has formed a new stand-alone company called MOIA to handle its emerging array of mobility services. The unit was officially launched on Dec. 5 at a technology event in London.

VW says the Berlin-based company aims to “make everyone a customer of our company,” even if they don’t own their own car. MOIA—short for individual mobility for everyone—will develop and market its own mobility and digital services, according to VW CEO Matthias Mueller.

MOIA will absorb VW’s six-month-old partnership with Israel-based taxi-hailing service Gett, which operates in 100 cities worldwide. The new company also plans to debut an on-demand ride-pool business next year in Berlin and Hamburg, then expand it to 20 cities across Europe.

The pooling business will work with local authorities. In some cases, the service could replace underutilized and money-losing public transit options, according to Thomas Sedran, who heads VW group strategy.

MOIA plans a fleet of electric shuttles that can be summoned using a smartphone app. Sedran reiterates VW’s aim of generating a “substantial” share of total sales through MOIA’s non-traditional transport services by 2025. “As customers’ needs change, so does the automobile business model,” he says.