All-electric ride sharing vehicle revealed
Berlin-based, Volkswagen-backed startup Moia has pulled the covers off its electric ride sharing concept vehicle
Startup company Moia has revealed an all-electric ridesharing car concept, with the goal of reducing the number of cars in major cities by one million.
Owned by the Volkswagen Group, the Berlin-based company’s Moia concept is a fully-electric vehicle than can accommodate up to six passengers in its van-like chassis. Moia says it was “designed to be spacious, with standalone seats, plenty of legroom, and enough space to move around and reach each seat with ease”.
Each seat offers dimmable reading lights and USB ports, while every vehicle will be fitted with WiFi for passengers. Automatic doors are present for ease of accessibility and luggage can be stored next to the driver.
The concept was designed and built by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles over a period of 10 months and has a claimed range of 186 miles on a single charge, with the battery capable of being charged to 80 per cent in 30 minutes.
Moia plans to launch a ride-sharing system by the end of 2018 in Hamburg, with the aim of removing one million cars from major cities in Europe and the USA by 2025. Customers will be able to request and pay for rides through a dedicated mobile app, which shows vehicle availability and prices before booking.
Ole Harms, Moia CEO, said: “We started one year ago at TechCrunch in London with the vision of partnering with cities to improve the efficiency on their streets.
“We want to create a solution for the typical transport problems that cities face, such as traffic, air and noise pollution, and lack of space, while simultaneously helping them reach their sustainability goals.
“In 2018, we’ll be ready to launch our ride pooling concept internationally and take the first steps toward our goal of reducing the number of cars in major cities by one million in Europe and the USA by 2025.”
Eckhard Scholzm, member of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ executive board, said: “Together with Moia and VW Osnabruck, we are redefining car manufacturing.
“We are very proud of the fact that we were able to build a new car specifically tailored to the needs of ride pooling in just ten months.”
