Volkswagen already is one of the largest vehicle manufacturers in the world. In the future, it might become one of the world’s largest ride providers, too.
Like many other automotive companies, Volkswagen is moving beyond its traditional role of merely building cars and morphing into a business centered on mobility. The company said this week that it is launching a new subsidiary called Moia that is intended to hatch innovations based around ride-hailing apps. The name Moia comes from the Sanskrit word for ?magic.?
Volkswagen is no stranger to ride hailing. In May, it invested $300 million in Gett, a global competitor of Uber and Lyft with a strong presence in Europe. It?s unclear exactly what role Gett will play with Moia, but Volkswagen sees the combination of the two as a means of entrenching its position on its home continent and elsewhere.
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?We want to demonstrate that innovative mobility solutions are possible outside of Silicon Valley.?

?Ole Harms, Moia

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?Our sights are set on becoming one of the global top players for mobility services in the medium term,? said Moia CEO Ole Harms.
Beyond ride hailing, Moia will develop an app for what VW calls ?connected commuting,? offering customers ways to plan journeys across different modes of transportation on a one-stop platform, a plan similar in concept to Moovel, a Daimler subsidiary that offers integrated bookings and payments.
Moia also will focus on on-demand pooling, in which customers summon vehicl...