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Automotive

VW's Moia wheels out an electric six-seater for the ride-sharing era

By Nick Lavars
December 04, 2017
VW's Moia wheels out an electric six-seater for the ride-sharing era
Moia has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age
Moia has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age
View 21 Images
Moia has already carried out testing of the vehicle in Hannover, Germany, with 30,000 trips under its belt
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Moia has already carried out testing of the vehicle in Hannover, Germany, with 30,000 trips under its belt
With a range of more than 300 km (186 mph) on a single charge, the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent in a little more than half an hour
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With a range of more than 300 km (186 mph) on a single charge, the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent in a little more than half an hour
Inside Moia's spacious cabin there are a number of design elements to give it a distinct carpool feel
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Inside Moia's spacious cabin there are a number of design elements to give it a distinct carpool feel
Moia is planning to launch its ride-pooling service in Hamburg in 2018
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Moia is planning to launch its ride-pooling service in Hamburg in 2018
Moia has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age
5/21
Moia has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age
Passengers can book a ride on Moia by entering their departure point and destination into the app
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Passengers can book a ride on Moia by entering their departure point and destination into the app
With a range of more than 300 km (186 mph), the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent in a little more than half an hour
7/21
With a range of more than 300 km (186 mph), the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent in a little more than half an hour
Moia has already carried out testing of the vehicle in Hannover, Germany, with 30,000 trips under its belt
8/21
Moia has already carried out testing of the vehicle in Hannover, Germany, with 30,000 trips under its belt
Inside Moia's spacious cabin there are a number of design elements to give it a distinct carpool feel
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Inside Moia's spacious cabin there are a number of design elements to give it a distinct carpool feel
Moia is planning to launch its ride-pooling service in Hamburg in 2018
10/21
Moia is planning to launch its ride-pooling service in Hamburg in 2018
Moia has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age
11/21
Moia has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age
With a range of more than 300 km (186 mph), the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent in a little more than half an hour
12/21
With a range of more than 300 km (186 mph), the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent in a little more than half an hour
Moia has already carried out testing of the vehicle in Hannover, Germany, with 30,000 trips under its belt
13/21
Moia has already carried out testing of the vehicle in Hannover, Germany, with 30,000 trips under its belt
Passengers can book a ride on Moia by entering their departure point and destination into the app
14/21
Passengers can book a ride on Moia by entering their departure point and destination into the app
Inside Moia's spacious cabin there are a number of design elements to give it a distinct carpool feel
15/21
Inside Moia's spacious cabin there are a number of design elements to give it a distinct carpool feel
Moia has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age
16/21
Moia has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age
Moia has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age
17/21
Moia has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age
Moia is planning to launch its ride-pooling service in Hamburg in 2018
18/21
Moia is planning to launch its ride-pooling service in Hamburg in 2018
Passengers can book a ride on Moia by entering their departure point and destination into the app
19/21
Passengers can book a ride on Moia by entering their departure point and destination into the app
With a range of more than 300 km (186 mph), the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent in a little more than half an hour
20/21
With a range of more than 300 km (186 mph), the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent in a little more than half an hour
Moia has already carried out testing of the vehicle in Hannover, Germany, with 30,000 trips under its belt
21/21
Moia has already carried out testing of the vehicle in Hannover, Germany, with 30,000 trips under its belt
View gallery - 21 images

One year ago at TechCrunch Disrupt in London, Volkswagen launched a dedicated company focused on future mobility services called Moia. At this year's TechCrunch Disrupt in Berlin, the spin-off has unveiled its very first vehicle, an all-electric six-seater built for the ride-sharing age.

Ride-sharing services, such as Lyft and Uber, have the potential to massively reduce traffic congestion in urban centers. Earlier in the year, scientists at MIT devised a carpooling algorithm they say could see almost all of New York City's 14,000 famous yellow taxis replaced with just 3,000 ride-sharing vehicles, all without significantly impacting travel times.

Moia is hoping to put this theory into practice, with company CEO Ole Harms saying, "we've set ourselves the goal of taking more than a million cars off the roads in Europe and the USA by 2025."

With a range of more than 300 km (186 mph) on a single charge, the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent in a little more than half an hour
With a range of more than 300 km (186 mph) on a single charge, the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent in a little more than half an hour

Moia is working to implement a ride-pooling service by focusing on two key areas, at least for now. One is intelligent algorithms, which identifies passengers traveling to similar destinations, chooses the best possible route that both avoids detours and makes best use of its cars already on the road.

The other is working with partners to develop vehicle concepts that best fit the ride-sharing mold. The electric van unveiled at TechCrunch Disrupt today is the first fruit of that labor, and was developed over 10 months together with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen Osnabrück.

Inside Moia's spacious cabin there are a number of design elements to give it a distinct carpool feel
Inside Moia's spacious cabin there are a number of design elements to give it a distinct carpool feel

With a range of more than 300 km (186 miles) on a single charge, the Moia vehicle can be charged to 80 percent of capacity in a little more than half an hour. Inside the spacious cabin there are a number of design elements to give it a distinct, carpool feel. These include a large display showing the route of the current "carpooling community", onboard Wi-Fi, luggage storage, USB charging ports in every seat, reading lamps and a long handrail to assist with ingress and egress.

Passengers can book a ride on Moia by entering their departure point and destination into the app. The algorithm then selects passengers traveling similar routes and the chauffeur follows the path set out for them by the app, all while generating zero emissions and minimal noise.

Moia has already carried out testing of the vehicle in Hannover, Germany, with 30,000 trips under its belt. It is planning to launch its ride-pooling service in Hamburg in 2018.

Source: Moia

View gallery - 21 images

Tags

AutomotiveVolkswagenElectric VehiclesCarpoolingVanRide-sharing
3 comments
Nick Lavars
Nick Lavars
Nick has been writing and editing at New Atlas for over six years, where he has covered everything from distant space probes to self-driving cars to oddball animal science. He previously spent time at The Conversation, Mashable and The Santiago Times, earning a Masters degree in communications from Melbourne’s RMIT University along the way.

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3 comments
Paul Anthony
Make me a 15 passenger and I'll buy it!
ljaques
Cool vehicle and concept. Those tiny tires/wheels make me think it rides like a military 2T vehicle. Change the paint in & out and I'm hooked.
YouAre
under no circumstances anybody ever should have any doubt in those numbers presented. it's Moia a creature that has nothing in common with VW. In VW we trust!