Volkswagen has just
introduced an all-electric ride-sharing fleet in the German city of Berlin. The
program, dubbed WeShare, will see 1500 e-Golf vehicles hit local streets
followed by an additional 500 e-Up! models at the start of 2020. Like similar
programs in operation around the world, WeShare is a “free-floating” system
without rental stations and is instead operated digitally through a smartphone
application.
The ride-sharing
service will initially operate in an area covering approximately 150 square
kilometers but will be expanded at a later date. Users will be able to rent an
e-Golf for 19 Euro cents per minute during the launch of the service and from
September onwards, the average price per minute will jump to 29 cents.
Users must have a
smartphone and a credit card to use the service, need to be at least 21 years
old, are required to have held a driving license for at least one year and need
to be registered at an address in Germany. WeShare service employees will be
notified when the battery level of a car is low. They will then drive the
vehicle to a nearby charging point, such as those recently established at food
retailers Lidl and Kaufland, where the car will be recharged before returning
to service. At a later date, users will be encouraged to recharge vehicles
themselves by being rewarded with various incentives.
The WeShare fleet
will eventually be updated with the forthcoming all-electric ID.3 hatchback
when it hits the streets next year. Volkswagen also intends on expanding the
service to Prague and Hamburg in 2020.
