February - 2018

Guide to Car Subscription Services

A New Alternative to Vehicle Ownership If you want a stress-free experience the next time you pick out a new vehicle, consider a car subscription, now offered by several major manufacturers and third-party companies. These services cost a little more than a regular lease or monthly financing payment, but the perks are worth considering. Some brands include maintenance and insurance, and others say it’s hassle-free to swap out your current car for a different one. We took a lo

Taxi app Careem signs up 1,000 new women drivers in Saudi Arabia

A Middle Eastern taxi app has signed up almost 1,000 Saudi women for training in anticipation of the ban on women driving being lifted later this year. The new drivers have been hired by Careem, a UAE-based ride hailing company with millions of users in neighbouring Saudi Arabia. “We are very excited about this June, it is a big milestone for the country. We have already started training female [drivers] and we hope to get up to 100,000 on board within a year,” co-founder Ma

3 Automotive Trends to Watch Out for in 2018

The year 2018 is going to be amazing, especially for the automotive industry since it is bringing some new trends we all have been excited … The year 2018 is going to be amazing, especially for the automotive industry since it is bringing some new trends we all have been excited to hear about. Over the past few years, the automotive industry surely has made huge leaps. We are living in the times where anything is possible. Big automotive dealers like BMW are already on the ou

Yandex rolls out Yandex.Drive car-sharing service in Moscow

Russian internet search engine Yandex has launched its car sharing service, Yandex.Drive, offering on-demand access to a fleet of 750 vehicles through a mobile application. Currently, users can drive a Kia Rio, a Kia Rio X-Line or a Renault Kaptur from the Yandex.Drive fleet in Moscow and the surrounding region for RUB 5 per minute. Yandex.Drive users can access the application to locate and reserve a vehicle, follow directions to the car, and remotely start the reserved vehi

Airport car sharing service eyes expansion

Hungarian startup BeeRides has partnered with German investor innogy Innovation Hub to expand its airport car sharing service. After Budapest and Dortmund, the next target is Düsseldorf, according to a press release sent to the Budapest Business Journal. When people travel abroad and park at airports, the majority of their cars sit unused for several days. Travelers spend HUF 2 billion a year on parking in the vicinity of Budapestʼs Ferenc Liszt International Airport, while m

Bosch establishes new mobility services division

Robert Bosch is joining the wave of suppliers shifting their organizational structures to brace for massive industry changes. At its ConnectedWorld conference in Berlin on Wednesday, the company said it was establishing a separate division named Connected Mobility Solutions, dedicated to new transportation technologies. The 600-employee global team will help Bosch capitalize on trends such as ride-hailing and car-sharing services, and includes the acquisition of carpooling st

Europcar Group and SnappCar Join Forces to Offer a New Car Sharing Solution

Europcar Group (Paris:EUCAR), a major player in mobility markets, announces the launch of its Drive & Share solution in Germany and Denmark together with SnappCar, the second-largest international peer-to-peer car sharing player in Europe, in which Europcar Group is a significant investor. After a first successful pilot phase in France, Drive & Share solution is launched in Germany and Denmark. Drive & Share is dedicated to people who want to enjoy the flexibility of owning a

The future of urban mobility depends on the sharing economy

Maven CEO and vice-president, General Motors Urban Mobility. The major appeal of living in a metropolitan city is that everything is close. Your bagel shop is on one corner, your barber on the other and your grocer is on the next block. Proximity to amenities – along with a large number job opportunities, unique culture and a close network of friends – is why people flock to major cities across the globe. What happens when that influx of people makes everything too close for

Congratulations to CARTA and Green Commuter - Smart 50 Award

The Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority is one of two Chattanooga-based entities to receive accolades in this year’s Smart 50 Awards, which recognize smart cities projects from around the world. CARTA received its Smart 50 Award for its innovative electric vehicle charging and car share project. The Smart 50 Awards are a partnership of Smart Cities Connect, Smart Cities Connect Foundation, and US Ignite to honor the most innovative and influential work in this

SEAT enters in the carsharing sector with the acquisition of Respiro

SEAT has taken over the Spanish startup Respiro, a pioneering company in renting cars by the hour in the city of Madrid. With this acquisition, which is the first time SEAT has entered the carsharing market, the brand is making progress in becoming a benchmark mobility solutions provider. All of this through a proven business model which will also give the company its own solution in this alternative transport segment. In addition, with this move SEAT positions itself as the