Volkswagen Launches WeShare in Berlin - The All-Electric Car-Sharing Service
As more and more automakers are going electric and debuting exciting EV options, it stands to reason that these cars should be driven in large cities to cut down on harmful emissions, smog, and environmental damage. In late June 2019, Volkswagen sought to capitalize on both the electric trend and the popularity of app-driven car-sharing services worldwide by launching WeShare in Berlin, Germany.
VW’s WeShare service features an all-electric fleet of 1,500 VW e-Golfs, with the promise of 500 e-up! cars and an undesignated number of ID.3s after their launch sometime next year. Although this program is only in Berlin at the moment, the VW Group has plans to partner with their sub-brand, Skoda, in Prague, and extend their German presence in Hamburg by early 2020.
Similar to Cars2Go and GM’s Maven, WeShare is a “free-floating” program that allows users to pick-up and park the vehicles wherever they want, as long as it is legally parked inside the 150 km2 (58 mi2) service area. This area includes all of downtown Berlin and many of the central city neighborhoods. As of right now, VW is recharging its WeShare cars, but there are plans to incentivize users to charge them when necessary, rather than relying on politeness alone.
Until September 2019, you can rent an e-Golf as part of the WeShare program for a mere 0.19 euro - $0.22 - per minute with no registration or airport fees. However, this will be short-lived; by September, the prices will increase to 0.29 euros or $0.33 per minute, and driver limitations will be put in place.
If you are interested in participating as a WeShare user, here are the requirements for all drivers:
- 21 Years Old
- Have a License for Over a Year
- Have a Registered Address in Germany
According to the VW Group, car-sharing users have increased notably over the past nine years, from 180,000 in 2010 to over 2.46 million in 2019, and the latter number is projected to keep counting up rapidly. In general, car-sharing is an environmentally-conscious effort with the added benefit of user convenience, and Volkswagen is intelligently turning such efforts into profit.
At AutohausAZ, we applaud VW for its forward-thinking WeShare program and look forward to the future of car-sharing. Unfortunately, most citizens of the world will be unable to enjoy WeShare for quite some time, provided they do not lift some of the current user limitations.
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