General Motors Jumps on the Car-Share Wagon With the Announcement of Maven

General Motors (GM) recently announced the launch of “Maven,” a new personal mobility brand that will provide city, residential, peer-to-peer and campus car-share services. With personal and shared mobility on the rise, GM’s announcement coincides with a slew of other car-share ventures from other automakers, such as Ford and Nissan.
The launch announcement followed a $500 million investment in ride-sharing service Lyft.
“With the launch of our car-sharing service through Maven, the strategic alliance with ride-sharing company Lyft, and building on our decades of leadership in vehicle connectivity through OnStar, we are uniquely positioned to provide the high level of personalized mobility services our customers expect today and in the future,” says Dan Ammann, president of GM.

According to gizmag.com, GM plans for Maven to “provide highly personalized, on-demand mobility services.” So far, Maven has 40 employees who were recruited from various facets of the car-tech and ride-share industry.
Using a mobile app, Maven will enable users to search for vehicles and reserve them based on location. Furthermore, users will be able to unlock the vehicles using their smart phone. The app will also control other features in the car, such as heating and cooling, starting the engine, Apple CarPlay, Sirius XM and more.
Maven has launched its city services in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and intends to roll out across the U.S. throughout 2016.
In addition to car-sharing, GM plans to use their partnership with Lyft to jump on the other automaking trend of the moment: autonomous vehicles, which will ultimately incorporated into Maven’s application, and cars will deliver themselves to users who rent them.
According to recent surveys, four in 10 people love their cars. Not just like — love. But when it comes to saving the environment, saving time, and saving gas, there’s a whole lot more to love.