GM's new car-sharing service, Maven, is expanding its operations in New York City by adding 80 vehicles.
With the big investments in Cruise and Lyft getting the lion’s share of attention, General Motors’ homegrown mobility start-up, Maven, sometimes get overlooked.
However, Maven is one of the fastest growing mobility brands in North America with operations in 17 different cities and plans an expansion in New York City that will make 80 vehicles available for car sharing in the heart of Manhattan.
A year and a half after launching as a residential-oriented service in New York City, Maven will continue to expand into the boroughs and throughout the city to provide cars around the corner from where New Yorkers live, work and play, all without a membership fee, GM officials said.
“New York City has been part of the fabric of Maven since we launched the brand here in 2015,” said Julia Steyn, vice president, General Motors Urban Mobility and Maven.
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“The addition of Maven City car sharing is an opportunity to showcase what we have learned. We crafted this experience with residents of the city in mind and see this as becoming part of the lifestyle of New Yorkers,” she added.
Like many other car- and ride-sharing services, Maven is based around a smartphone app.
Maven offers three products to address urban growth trends and the need for mobility as a service: Maven City, a fully connected, seamless car-sharing service; Maven Home provides the ultimate amenity — transportation as a service — for residential communities and commercial entities; and Maven Gig, an on-demand vehicle rental service that offers drivers in the sharing economy the freedom to switch between several brands, services and gigs.
Maven provides lifestyle-oriented cars with all the amenities needed for travel in and outside of New York. Residents who feel trapped in the densely populated urban environment can escape for short trips in a sporty sedan or a luxury SUV.
All Maven vehicles are equipped with technology, including 4G LTE Wi-Fi, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Maven 24/7 advisor support is available through OnStar for questions, roadside assistance and emergency response, providing peace of mind for the journey.
(Click Here for details about GM’s latest expansion with Maven.)
Maven eliminates the need to own a car in New York City, GM representatives noted.
Residents no longer have to pay high insurance premiums and costly rates to park in garages when the street is not an option. Personally owned vehicles sit idle 95% of the time, and each shared car takes about 15 private cars off the road, helping to alleviate congestion, the company estimates.
“The addition of Maven City car sharing is an opportunity to showcase what we have learned,” said Steyn. “We crafted this experience with residents of the city in mind and see this as becoming part of the lifestyle of New Yorkers.”
Maven recently placed more than 100 Chevrolet Bolts into car-sharing and ridesharing services in California. Maven’s mobility platform also allows for more rapid innovation by GM. It also is creating new business opportunities and helping to make crucial strides toward autonomous vehicle deployment.
(GM’s Ammann says Maven partnership is moving along nicely. Click Here for the story.)
Maven is actively working with EV Infrastructure providers, including service providers and electric utilities, to leverage these high-demand scenarios and deploy EVs into the car- and ride-sharing fleets.