VW launches electric car-share in Berlin

Volkswagen has launched an electric ‘free-floating’ car-share service called WeShare in Berlin. The fleet comprises 1,500 e-Golfs, and they are to be followed by 500 additional e-up!vehicles in the German capital at the beginning of next year. The first units of its full-electric ID.3 are due to be deployed in mid-2020, the manufacturer says. Initially, WeShare will cover around 150 km2 – in the city centre and beyond the city train ring line. The service costs €0.19 per minute but will increase to
July 9, 2019 Read time: 2 mins

994 Volkswagen has launched an electric ‘free-floating’ car-share service called WeShare in Berlin.

The fleet comprises 1,500 e-Golfs, and they are to be followed by 500 additional e-up!vehicles in the German capital at the beginning of next year.

The first units of its full-electric ID.3 are due to be deployed in mid-2020, the manufacturer says.

Initially, WeShare will cover around 150 km2 – in the city centre and beyond the city train ring line. The service costs €0.19 per minute but will increase to €0.29 in September.

WeShare will recharge its fleet on Berlin’s public charging network, which includes new charging points at 70 branches of food retailers Lidl and Kaufland.

The company’s service employees will collect and recharge the vehicles when the battery level is low. In later operation, users will receive incentives to recharge the vehicles themselves.

Customers must have a smartphone and credit card, be at least 21 years old, have had a driving licence for at least one year and be registered at an address in Germany.

Looking ahead, Volkswagen intends to bring WeShare to Prague, Czech Republic, with Skoda and then expand further into Germany with Hamburg next year.

Urban Traffic Control

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Siemens launches interoperable electric bus charger
    August 22, 2016
    Siemens has launched an interoperable charging infrastructure for e-buses which capable of charging buses from different manufacturers. German public transport operator Hamburger Hochbahn is to begin operation of three additional e-buses on its ‘innovation line’ 109. The battery-powered buses built by Polish company Solaris will be charged at the same Siemens charging stations that also power the plug-in hybrid buses from Volvo which have been serving Hamburg since the end of 2014. The three buses fr
    Read More
  • Full electric vehicle shipments to exceed 2 million by 2020
    October 11, 2013
    According to ABI Research, the number of full electric vehicles (EV) shipping yearly will increase from 150,000 in 2013 to 2.36 million in 2020, representing a CAGR of 48 per cent. Asia-Pacific will exhibit the strongest growth, driven by mounting pollution issues in its many megacities; however, true mass-market uptake will only start happening in the next decade.
    Read More
  • Dynamic charging boosts electric vehicles’ potential
    December 16, 2014
    With an increasing need to use electric vehicles in city centres to reduce pollution, David Crawford looks at various solutions to power delivery. The UN’s September 2014 Climate Summit has added fresh momentum to the drive to increase urban electric vehicle (EV) takeup. It has launched the Urban Electric Mobility Initiative, which wants to see EVs accounting for 30% of all urban travel by 2030, and make cities worldwide more friendly to their use. Encouragingly, the plan is being well supported by commerci
    Read More
  • UK government to invest in autonomous cars, low emission vehicles
    November 24, 2016
    Presenting his Autumn Statement, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced investment in transportation, including £390 million for future transport and a major new investment in the UK transport infrastructure. The £390 million investment in future technology includes: investment in testing infrastructure for driverless cars; provision of at least 550 new electric and hydrogen buses, reduce the emissions of 1,500 existing buses and support taxis to become zero emission; installation of more charging points fo
    Read More

Highlighted Content