VW Launches Ride-Sharing Service In Berlin Before The ID.3 Arrives

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.

Also Read: VW Offering UK Customers 48-Hour Test Drives With The e-Golf

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.