“I can tell you personally that I wouldn’t be here if GM saw Maven as (simply a fun science project),” said Brent Taylor, General Manager for Maven in New York City, when asked how serious GM is about this new venture. As Maven ramps up its service in The Big Apple, and continues to launch in major cities all around the United States, it’s becoming clear to everybody that General Motors isn’t just dipping its toes into the car sharing business. It’s planning on disrupting the industry.
“Our CEO (Mary Barra) has brought GM into a technology-based world which paved the way for Maven to exist,” Taylor said. “Dan Ammann oversees it and Julia Steyn, the Maven VP, is the direct line to the executive offices.”
With the oversight of Barra, Ammann and Steyn, Maven has launched in 17 markets in just 15 months. And so far, there have been 110+ million miles logged in Maven vehicles, mostly through the Express Drive program, which allows Uber and Lyft drivers to use Maven vehicles instead of their own, for a fee. So far, there are 33,500 members and 42,000 logged reservations via the Maven app. Maven is currently one of the auto industry’s few in-house car sharing platforms offering multiple brands. In this case, Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. And there’s no membership fee, unlike other platforms like ZipCar. There’s also the newly launched Maven Reserve program, which allows customers to drive a vehicle on a month-to-month basis.
“One of the unique qualities that Maven brings to market is that the OEM controls the actual fleet mix, and can really cater and determine its manufacturing based on the needs for Maven. If you get a Chevrolet Cruze for $9 an hour or a Cadillac Escalade for $20 an hour, you’re still going to get on that Cruze, leather seats, 4G wifi, OnStar, satellite radio, and basically all the bells and whistles. We think that’s where the value add for the customer is here, where they would rather spend their $9/hr at Maven and have a great drive experience, as well as the mobility factor (opposed to a stripped-down rental car or a ZipCar).”
In the near-term, Maven aims to make gains in the industry total ride share miles driven, according to Taylor. Additionally, the OnStar telematics data pooled from Maven trips could help GM build both a better vehicle and ride sharing service. For example, data on average commutes with Maven vehicles, or even how drivers use available electric vehicles in the fleet.
Stay tuned to GM Authority for more Maven news, scoops and updates.
Comment
Is there anyone arguing that it’s just a pet project? Maven (or something like it) is critical to GM in the future. Every manufacturer needs to get ready, now, for the seismic change that’s happening due to automated & self-driving cars. It’s going to cause car production to fall precipitously (after all — if you can just Uber/Lyft/Maven a self-driving car to get you where you need to go, why would you ever need to own one?) and GM needs a piece of that pie.
Additionally, this gives GM revenue without going through the dealer network — though they don’t trumpet that fact. That gives GM more control of their product (something every manufacturer wants) and gives them all the revenue, instead of splitting it.