General Motors Makes Another Investment in Sharing Economy: Meet Maven
Judy Antell
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The Chevy Malibu is part of the Maven car sharing program. Credit: General Motors
Maven car sharing joins General Motors – Lyft ride sharing partnership.
At the Washington Auto Show, the focus of the public policy panel was connected cars and shared-use mobility. General Motors, which pioneered the connected car with OnStar, is building a platform where you can use your smartphone to find, reserve and unlock a vehicle. Maven launched in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and will soon start in Chicago. It will also replace Let’s Drive NYC for New York City residents, and compete with the car sharing service Zipcar.
One of the Maven car choices is the Chevrolet Malibu, which just won the connected green car award at the Washington Auto Show. Other cars in the Maven car sharing program include Chevy Volt or Spark, and for those needing a large vehicle, a Chevrolet Tahoe.
Earlier in January, General Motors announced a $500 million investment in Lyft to help grow the ride sharing service and develop a network of on-demand autonomous vehicles.
Ford has a car sharing program, Get around that operates in San Francisco Berkeley Chicago Oakland Portland and Washington D.C.; in that program, private car owners let others drive their cars.